AUSTIN, Texas — Emotional and at-times heated testimony continued Wednesday in Austin as a court weighs what should happen next at Camp Mystic, where 27 people died during last summer's deadly Hill Country flooding.
Families of the victims are asking a judge to block the camp from altering or removing buildings at its Guadalupe campus, where 25 girls and two counselors died. Attorneys for the families argue the site should be preserved as evidence while investigators work to determine what went wrong.
The third day of testimony included a tense exchange between attorneys, with accusations over remarks allegedly made following Tuesday’s hearing. One of the attorneys described the confrontation, stating one attorney told another that they were going to "burn in hell."
Despite the dispute, much of the focus remained on whether Camp Mystic should be allowed to move forward with renovations at the Guadalupe campus.
“My question … is that the kind of conduct that Camp Mystic is responsible for in a proceeding where we are simply asking to preserve evidence … and get to the truth?” an attorney representing the families said.
Camp officials defended their actions during the flooding and their response in the hours that followed.
Catie Eastland, director of the camp’s Cypress Lake campus, located on higher ground, testified that dangerous conditions prevented immediate access to the hardest-hit areas.
“My oldest son and I made an attempt to go that direction and the water was extremely high,” Eastland said. “There was no chance of getting across.”
She also addressed questions about the timing of her response.
“The water was up so high. Also, it was dark and I didn’t know anything was happening over there," she said. "You couldn’t see it."
Testimony also came from Glenn Juenke, a security guard who was on duty the night of the flood. He described helping move campers to a two-story building before becoming trapped himself.
Juenke acknowledged that an earlier evacuation might have changed the outcome.
“I was very concerned about kids being struck by lightning,” he said. “Because the storm was on top of us. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Meanwhile, Camp Mystic had been planning to open its Cypress Lake campus for the summer, even as questions about the tragedy remain unresolved.
A judge has not yet ruled on whether the camp can proceed with changes to the Guadalupe property. The hearing is scheduled to resume Monday.