The director of the ill-fated Texas girls’ getaway, Camp Mystic, was overwhelmed with emotion on the witness stand this week, admitting he has no knowledge of the whereabouts of an 8-year-old camper still missing after last year’s tragic floods.
Edward Eastland’s emotional testimony coincided with the revelation that the camp aims to reopen on higher ground within two months, with almost 900 girls already registered to attend.
The catastrophic flooding, exacerbated by major failings by camp officials, resulted in the deaths of 24 young campers, two staff members, and another man on July 4 at the esteemed summer camp. The camp, located along the Guadalupe River in the small town of Hunt, was renowned among Texas’s elite.
“I wish we never had camp that summer,” Eastland, co-director of Camp Mystic, stated during a hearing on Monday related to lawsuits filed by bereaved parents, including those of the still-missing camper Cecilia “Cile” Steward.
During a cross-examination by the family’s lawyer, Brad Beckworth, Eastland conceded that the camp failed to implement basic safety measures that could have saved lives, such as not using the loudspeaker for evacuation and neglecting to meet with staff to discuss the impending storm.
Eastland admitted he had slept through a CodeRED text alert issued on July 3, warning of local flash floods expected to last several hours.
Emotional moments during the hearing included the playing of “Taps” over the camp’s loudspeakers at 10 p.m. on July 3, signaling lights out for the campers. Several victims’ family members left the courtroom when cell-phone footage was shown, capturing cries for help.
Eastland insisted he was unaware of the storm’s severity. “We did not expect what was going to happen,” he testified. Beckworth retorted, “You were warned.”
Eastland described frantically entering one of the cabins and trying to save as many campers as possible as the waters surged. “There were girls going out of the front door. I grabbed two girls, and there was a third one I didn’t grab,” he recounted. Another girl “jumped on my back — I don’t know who it was — before we got washed out,” he added.
“The water was over my head very quickly. The water was churning,” Eastland recounted, describing the night as a blur. When asked by Beckworth about Cile’s fate, Eastland replied, “I don’t know.” Beckworth pressed, “Was she one of the girls with you when you were swept out?” Eastland tearfully responded, “I don’t know. I don’t know if she was on my back.”
The camp, which had past campers including descendants of Lyndon B. Johnson and former first lady Laura Bush as a counselor, has applied to the state to renew its license and reopen in a safer location this summer.
Cile’s mother, Cici Steward, opposes the reopening, asserting, “Now is the time for the state of Texas to step in and deny the license for Camp Mystic because it is so clear they are incapable of keeping children safe.” She criticized the “reckless leadership of the Eastland family.”
With Post wires
