Several parents who lost children during last year’s deadly flood in the Texas Hill Country are asking state officials to deny the renewal of Camp Mystic’s license to operate. The camp’s owners previously announced plans to reopen Mystic’s Cypress Lake location for the 2026 summer season, not the location where 27 campers and counselors lost their lives, along with camp co-owner, Dick Eastland.
“Cile Steward is still not found. Her body is in the river somewhere and they’re going to put other little children in the same river, which is just shocking,” said Dr. Patricia Bellows, whose daughter, Margaret, 8, died at Camp Mystic during the 2025 floods.
Bellows and her husband, Warren Bellows, are among several parents who’ve filed complaints against Camp Mystic with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), which licenses and inspects youth camps.
“I think the same people who were in charge on July 4th are still in charge. I think we need more time to make sure that they understand what they’re doing, if they can ever understand what their doing,” said Warren Bellows.
Natalie Landry’s daughter, Lainey, 9, was bus mates with Margaret Bellows and both were assigned to the Bubble Inn cabin at Camp Mystic.
“They need to be held accountable,” said Landry. “They got complacent all these years and unfortunately it took these 27 girls to die for there to be change,” said Landry. " I came across a letter that Lainey wrote and said, ‘Dear Mom and Dad, thank you for always keeping me safe.’ And it’s heartbreaking because we couldn’t be there to protect them."
The three families 2 Investigates spoke with all said they still have not gotten a full accounting of what happened at the camp before and during the July 4th flood.
“We want full transparency, and we want to know exactly the details of that night, so that we can understand fully what happened, so other people can understand what happened and make sure that this doesn’t happen again in the future,” said Brandt Dillon, whose daughter, Lucy, 8, died during the flood at Camp Mystic.
Warren and Patricia Bellows said while they’ve not gotten a full account of what happened during the flood, they did intercept a letter written by “Tweety” Eastland, Dick Eastland’s widow, to their older daughter, who also attended Camp Mystic.
“Tweety Eastland sent my older daughter a letter talking about how wonderful it is that Dick and the girls are all in heaven," said Warren Bellows. “I found it very presumptuous that they should take charge of helping my daughter heal after everything that they had put these children through."
The Bellows said they still have not let their 12 daughter read the letter, fearing it would cause further trauma.
“It certainly put us into a funk and we put it away. (It) wasn’t anything that was going to be constructive to her healing," said Patricia Bellows.
This is the time of year youth camps apply for new licenses or license renewals in order to operate during the 2026 camping season. Officials with DSHS did not have the exact number of complaints filed against Camp Mystic as of our deadline. Officials with the agency did report, as of Feb. 19, DSHS received 212 emails against Camp Mystic’s license renewal and 8 emails supporting a renewal.
Officials with DSHS also said as Feb. 19, Camp Mystic had not yet filed an application for license renewal, but the application period is open until March 31.
The families we spoke with also said they do not trust the Eastland family, which still owns and operates Camp Mystic, has made the necessary changes to ensure campers are safe.
“I think a big part of risk management in general is sitting down with those affected and explaining everything that happened, why it happened, and what we’re doing moving forward to improve things, and that has not occurred,” said Patricia Bellows.
“Will you ever be comfortable with Camp Mystic re-opening if the Eastlands are still in charge?" asked 2 Investigates, Robert Arnold.
“If I’m honest with you, no, absolutely not,” said Dillon. “The way that the Eastlands went into immediate self-preservation mode. It’s astonishing and it’s not a family that I feel comfortable with."
All the families we spoke explained their goal is not to see the permanent closure of Camp Mystic, but to ensure there has been wholesale change in the way safety and disaster preparedness is approached by the youth camp industry.
“It does no good to have a wonderful, wholesome, loving camp that helps your children to grow spiritually, that helps them to make new friends if they don’t get to come home from it. They need to be able to come home,” said Patricia Bellows.
Crime Stoppers of Houston has been working with these families on challenging Camp Mystic’s license renewal.
“Crime Stoppers of Houston has been following camp safety for nearly 10 years. Our findings raised concerns about Texas camps’ ability to operate as a statutory outlier when compared to other institutions that house and care for children. In many cases we reviewed, camps were allowed to self-govern and self-regulate. The July 4th floods began to change that conversation. Now more than ever, families are calling on the State to take a more responsible approach to camp oversight. The lives lost demand it, and Texas law cannot be overlooked,” wrote Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO, Rania Mankarious. “Under Health and Safety Code Chapter 141 and the Texas Administrative Code, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has the authority to refuse or pause a youth camp license renewal when there are unresolved violations, compliance concerns, or ongoing investigations. Twenty-eight individuals died at Camp Mystic - twenty-five of them children and two youth counselors. With pending lawsuits, active investigations, and many unanswered questions, license renewal is not appropriate at this time. Either camps are thoroughly vetted and the licensing process has meaning, or the lack of meaningful enforcement sends a clear message: Texas camps are not safe for children. The future of camp culture now hangs in the balance. Families deserve confidence that youth camps are rigorously reviewed and demonstrably safe. This moment calls for transparency, accountability, and a renewed commitment to ensuring that oversight mechanisms function as intended - to protect children.”
KPRC 2 asked Camp Mystic to respond to these complaints either on-camera or via written statement. One of the camp’s attorneys, Mikal Watts sent a written statement, “We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and all families in the Hill Country who lost loved ones in the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4. We are devastated by the deaths of our campers and counselors, and we continue to pray for God to comfort and support their families in their unfathomable grief.
We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and unforeseeable, and that no adequate early warning flood systems existed in the area. We disagree with the misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course.
In the meantime, we remain proud of the legacy of Camp Mystic and its role in forging strong, young Christian women across Texas and will endeavor to continue that role in the future while focused entirely on implementing a litany of new procedures and new technologies to make Camp Mystic and the community around us safe for all who come in the future.
Details regarding enhanced safety at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake can be found at the following link: https://campmystic.com/safety/
Youth camps are facing stricter oversight following the deadly floods. Legislators passed a series of new laws during a special session, including the “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.” The new laws require far more robust disaster preparedness plans, on-site emergency communications and safety enhancements to cabins.
DSHS officials wrote, “licenses will not be issued to any camp that does not meet all statutory requirements.”
DSHS officials have until Sept. 1 to institute a Youth Camp Safety Multidisciplinary team to oversee camp’s emergency preparedness plans.
The parents KPRC 2 spoke with also questioned why the influential Youth Camp Advisory Committee had not met since March 2025.
This committee works with the executive commissioner of Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to develop standards, procedures and rules for how youth camps are regulated by DSHS.
The HHSC executive commissioner appoints the nine members of the committee, which is to be composed of “at least two members shall be from the general public, and seven members shall be experienced camping professionals who represent the camping communities of the state.”
DSHS officials said the planned Oct. 2025 meeting was canceled so the agency could institute new rules as to who serves on YCAC.
Mankarious and other parents have long pushed for a change in who can serve on YCAC. During the last special session a bill was filed, but failed to pass, that would have required YCAC to have an emergency management director or coordinator, a member of law enforcement, a pediatrician, a child psychologist, a child abuse prevention specialist, a camp operator, a parent of a camper, and two members of the public unaffiliated with any youth camp as members.
The new rules went into effect on Feb. 2 and now require one member from the general public, one member from the general public with expertise in specialized program safety, such as archery, firearms, or challenge courses, one parent of a child who was a camper in the past two years, one day camp operator, one camp operator with experience in wilderness or primitive activities, one residential camp operator operating a youth camp that provides overnight accommodations for 500 or more campers per year, one residential camp operator operating a youth camp that provides overnight accommodations for 499 or fewer campers per year, one waterfront safety expert, and one pediatric psychologist, psychiatrist, or child abuse expert.
DSHS officials said they are still accepting applications to fill all the positions, but no 2026 YCAC meeting has been scheduled yet.