The medical officer is Texas Summer Camp Twenty-seven girls died in floods last year, and she testified Tuesday that she still has not formally reported the deaths to the state health agency that runs the camp and is reviewing applications to reopen it this summer.
Mary Liz Eastland, a member of the family that owns and operates the company Mystery CampIt has been challenged in a legal battle between the camp’s operators and the victims’ families, who have filed a lawsuit and want the camp to retain the damaged areas as evidence. The two days of hearings produced the most extensive details Camp operators were told about the predawn flooding of the Guadalupe River on July 4 and the decision to delay evacuation until it was too late.
While the deaths of 25 campers and two teen counselors at the all-girls Christian camp have been widely reported and not problematic, Texas administrative code requires camps to report deaths to state health regulators within 24 hours.
“I didn’t think about this requirement in the moments after the flooding,” Eastland said, adding that she didn’t do it before the camp applied to reopen on March 31.
Eastland couldn’t remember exactly when she learned of the camper’s death, saying it could have been a day or days after the flooding. Her father-in-law, Richard Eastland, was also killed.
Asked whether the death toll should be officially reported while a camp permit is pending, Mary Liz Eastland said: “I think so.”
It’s unclear whether the failure to report would affect the camp’s permit application. A copy of the camp application includes a list of camp officials and a floodplain map. Operators must also submit detailed safety plans, which are not visible to the public.
State regulators will inspect the camp during permit review. The agency also said it is reviewing hundreds of complaints about the camp and has invited help from the Texas Rangers Investigative Division. State lawmakers are also conducting a separate investigation into the flooding.
“DSHS will consider any results of the inspection and investigation when making a decision on the renewal application,” the agency said Tuesday.
The camp plans to reopen part of its campus this summer and house nearly 900 girls, a move that has angered the families of the girls who were killed. This week’s hearing was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the family of 8-year-old Cile Steward, the only camper still missing.
The Stewart family says the camp should not be allowed to reopen under the continued leadership of the Eastland family. Separately, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said permits should not be issued until all investigations are complete.
Mary Liz Eastland’s testimony came as her husband, Edward Eastland, spent hours being questioned Monday and Tuesday about issues such as missing weather warnings, delaying evacuation decisions and scrambling to rescue children as floodwaters breached the camp and created rapids around the cabin.
He tearfully described grabbing two girls and another who jumped on his back before they were both swept away.
“A true hero testified today,” said Mikal Watts, one of Eastland’s attorneys. “He tells a gripping story of saving lives during an unprecedented tsunami. I am proud to represent Edward Eastland and his family.”
Mary Liz Eastland recounted her steps as she and her children left home that night to meet her mother-in-law. She described water pouring into the house and breaking windows to escape. The family was able to reach a higher realm.
She also described what she saw as she walked toward the river bank at sunrise and “saw the girl in the tree.” She and other staff members gathered survivors for a head count, checking names against cabin rosters.
“I had to figure out who we had and who we didn’t have,” she said.
But she also acknowledged that she never tried to evacuate campers in low-lying areas early in the storm, saying she could not get through rising floodwaters. She was also pressed on why, as the camp’s chief medical officer, she didn’t try to call or alert other medical staff to get to the campers before the disaster struck.
Steward family attorney Christina Yarnell noted that Eastland had been at Camp Mystic since 2002 as a camper, counselor or staff member.
“You know the property. You know the flood lines. You know the access points,” Yarnell said. “Your kids know them. These are the first-year campers…Ciel needed your help and you abandoned her, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Eastland said.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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