Camp Mystic official says she still hasn’t reported flood deaths to Texas agency
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- Mary Liz Eastland, medical officer at Camp Mystic where 27 girls and counselors died in a flood, testified she has not reported the deaths to Texas state health authorities as required by law.
- The testimony occurred during a hearing related to a lawsuit by the family of missing camper Cecilia Steward, seeking to preserve flood-damaged areas as evidence before the camp reopens.
- Eastland admitted she did not recall when she first learned of the deaths and did not attempt early evacuation due to rapidly rising floodwaters, acknowledging she "abandoned" the campers in low-lying areas.
- Camp director Edward Eastland testified he had not seen official weather warnings, did not hold a flood preparedness meeting, and admitted the camp lacked a written flood evacuation plan.
- Both Eastlands expressed emotional accounts of the flood's chaos, with Edward describing his rescue attempts and uncertainty about Cecilia Steward's fate.
