Camp Mystic announces enhanced safety plans after death of 25 girls, 2 counselors

By SEAN MURPHY The owners of an all-girls summer camp in the Texas Hill Country where campers and two teenage counselors died in catastrophic July flooding disclosed plans on Tuesday for new safety upgrades that will be in place when a portion of the camp opens next summer Related Articles Why did the San Bernardino mass shooting happen Raccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floor Arizona attorney general sues Chinese online retailer Temu over evidence theft maintains A look at the Thanksgiving shopping weekend and what s next Trump says National Guard will be sent to New Orleans Camp Mystic owners commented in a letter to parents that they plan to exceed new camp safety laws that were passed by the Legislature and signed by Texas Gov Greg Abbott following the devastating floods that killed at least people and washed away homes and vehicles We are preparing for next summer at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake and we know that safety is of the utmost concern to all of you as it is for us the Eastland family wrote in the letter to parents of Camp Mystic campers We thank the Heaven s families and our state leaders for passing law to help make camps safer and it is our goal not only to be in compliance with the new camp safety laws but to exceed their requirements The children and counselors who died have become known as Heaven s Camp Mystic s owners include the wife and other family members of Dick Eastland who also died in the flooding The enhanced safety measures at the camp include four flood warning river monitors designed to provide early detection of high-water events two-way radios in every cabin enabled with national weather alerts and high-capacity generators to maintain power in critical areas of the camp including its office and dining hall We recognize that returning to Camp Mystic carries both hope and heartache the Eastland family noted in the letter For a great number of of your daughters this return is not simple but it is a courageous step in their healing journey The Eastland family released in September that it planned to build a memorial for the girls who died in the flooding and to reopen Camp Mystic Cypress Lake a separate property that is not adjacent to the Guadalupe River and that sustained no damage in the July floods That plan drew fierce criticism from a few of the casualties families who reported they were never consulted about Camp Mystic s plans To promote reopening less than three months after the tragedy while one camper remains missing is unthinkable CiCi and Will Steward whose -year-old daughter Cile Steward died in the floods and whose body still has not been recovered wrote to Camp Mystic bureaucrats when their reopening plan was first declared The families of several of the girls who died in the floods have sued Camp Mystic and the Eastlands in state court alleging camp operators failed to take necessary policies to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached Camp Mystic plans to offer six separate -day sessions in beginning May and ending Aug They also plan to offer tours of the camp in April for enrolled campers counselors and their parents