TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — A Travis County judge has ordered that part of Camp Mystic remain closed indefinitely and prohibited any construction or changes in that same portion of the campus. However, the ruling allows the Cypress Lake portion of the camp to reopen this summer should they be approved for a license by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The hearing stemmed from a lawsuit filed last month by the family of Cile Steward, one of the 27 campers and counselors killed during last summer’s catastrophic flooding at Camp Mystic. The Steward family had requested a temporary injunction to halt construction and keep the camp closed while their lawsuit moves forward.
“What the court has ruled is the Guadalupe River side of Camp Mystic will not be reopening anytime soon until we get through with the right evidentiary process, towards trial,” Brad Beckworth, the Plaintiffs' Attorney, said. "We asked over and over again, where was your evacuation plan for this flood? [Edward Eastland] can't articulate that there ever was one, doesn't know where it was, if it was in writing. That's troubling."
At least 200 people attended Wednesday’s hearing, which focused on the Guadalupe portion of the campus — the area where the worst of the flooding occurred and where lives were lost.
The judge ruled that this part of the campus must remain closed indefinitely and that no changes, renovations or construction could take place there. It also means no operations for the Cypress Lake campus can be run out of the Guadalupe portion of the camp.
Several of the families who lost their children filled up one side of the courtroom. Among them was Doug and Jennie Getten who lost their daughter, Ellen. The older daughter Gwynne survived the floods while attending Camp Mystic.
“I’m pleased that we began the process today and we’re moving forward to find out what happened July 3rd and July 4th,” Doug said.
"We’re learning more about the timeline about everything that happened,” Jennie said.
The Plaintiffs' Attorney Brad Beckworth is representing Will and CiCi Steward. He started the opening statements on Wednesday morning going through the timeline of July 4th and alleges that members of the Eastland family evacuated themselves around or before the time camper evacuations began.
Beckworth also told the Judge they filed their lawsuit a few months after the initial wave of lawsuits, as they were trying to see if Cile would be found. Beckworth said the first site preservation letter asking about Camp Mystic was sent on July 11, 2025.
KHOU 11 Legal Analyst Carmen Roe said before the ruling that the case could influence how similar lawsuits against the camp are handled.
“We know that these camps have been combed over by law enforcement, by experts, by lawyers for months,” Roe said previously. “I think the court is clearly acting diligently to deal with this case and maybe help others understand how it will be handled going forward in other cases.”
Shortly after the ruling, Cile Steward’s mother, Cici Steward, told KHOU 11:
“They got lucky that it was only 27 girls but luck shouldn't be the standard and today they exemplified again profitability over people. They didn't have a plan. You think that's the first thing that they'd have moving forward.” CiCi was referring to a quote her Attorney Brad Beckworth, said when he was discussing the damage to Rec Hall at the Guadalupe Campus, which is where several girls evacuated to.
Camp Mystic attorney Mikal Watts, who represents the camp, addressed the judge’s decision:
“She did the right thing. She agreed that the evidence at the Guadalupe [campus] should be preserved. What we already offered to do… she did not say we can't open camp,” Watts said. "We have videotapes, we have water, we have, uh, photogrammetry, we have LDA, we have all sorts of hydrology experts and the like. We know what happened and when. We know why this flood was exponentially different than every other flood in the history of Texas. Uh, we know why Camp Mystic didn't get a warning."
In Watts's opening statements, he went through five points on why Camp Mystic should not be shut down completely. Watts's five points were that the camp opening this summer is not the site of the July 4th tragedy, there was no probable right to relief that existed to shut down the camp in 2026, the camp opening this summer is safe, there is no right to an injunction against camp opening, and no spoliation has occurred.
Watts added that with the decision on Wednesday, the process for applying for a license to operate the Cypress Lake campus will continue, with applications due by the end of the month.
The only witness to testify on Wednesday was Edward Eastland, who said counselors were trained only to keep campers away from floodwaters, rather than implementing broader evacuation procedures.
During Edward's witness testimony, where he answered questions from Brad Beckworth, he asked Edward technical questions about the morning of July 4th, which included members of his family evacuating and being picked up by his brother Britt. Edward also said he is unsure of when he first learned of a request to preserve evidence at Camp Mystic as well as if there was a written evacuation plan in existence on July 4th, 2025.
The Steward family’s lawsuit is one of at least five currently moving through the legal system against Camp Mystic. Last week, the lieutenant governor also asked the state not to renew the camp’s license until a legislative investigation is completed.
Camp Mystic previously stated it empathizes with the families of the victims and plans to implement new safety procedures and technologies across its campuses.
The camp released the following statement to us:
"Camp Mystic is pleased with today’s ruling, which denied the request to prevent camp in 2026 at Cypress Lake. We look forward to receiving nearly 900 girls who have enrolled for camp this summer. While we continue the century-long tradition of Camp Mystic, we do so with love and respect for the Steward family and for all the Heaven’s 27. families. We pledge to do everything in our power to make camp as fulfilling and as safe as possible for generations to come. We thank the judge for her time today and applaud her reasoned and just ruling."
KHOU 11 will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at newstips@khou.com or call 713-521-4310 and include your name and the best way to reach you.