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A Texas official has urged the Department of State Health Services to pause Camp Mystic’s license renewal until a full investigation into last year’s deadly flash flood that claimed the lives of 25 campers is carried out.
In a letter to DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said the private, non-denominational Christian girls’ camp should have voluntarily suspended its 2026 summer operations. However, the camp appears to be accepting applications for the upcoming season and may seek Shuford’s approval to renew its license, which is set to expire March 6.
“Until these deaths are investigated and any necessary corrective actions are taken to ensure this never happens again, a camp license should not be issued to Camp Mystic,” Patrick wrote. “It would be naive to allow Camp Mystic to return to normal operations before all of the facts are known.”
Patrick’s letter states that 25 girls aged 8 to 10, two teenage counselors and the camp’s director, Dick Eastland, died in the July flood, which was triggered by a slow-moving thunderstorm over Texas’ “Flash Flood Alley.” The devastating flooding claimed more than 100 lives in the region.
He also criticized the camp’s website for failing to acknowledge the deaths or the ongoing search for one camper, while still listing Eastland as in charge.
Patrick said the Texas Legislature will hold a joint spring hearing on the floods, with the General Investigating Committees in Texas House and Senate meeting to determine if corrective actions are needed. He asked DSHS to delay Camp Mystic’s license renewal until the investigation and any necessary safety fixes are complete.
"As Lieutenant Governor, public safety is a top priority, and I cannot stay silent on this issue," Patrick said. "DSHS shares the obligation to protect families and campers."
Camp Mystic, however, maintains that its Cypress Lake location, separate from the flood‑affected Guadalupe site, meets current state safety standards and should not be denied a license.
“There is, consequently, no regulatory basis to deny Camp Mystic Cypress Lake its license… It’s a separate property that is not adjacent to the Guadalupe River and sustained no significant damage from the historic flood on July 4,” camp officials told The Independent in a statement.
The Guadalupe location isn’t reopening this summer, but it is located less than two miles from the Cypress Lake location, officials said.
Attorneys Christina Yarnell and Bradley Beckworth, who represent Will and CiCi Steward in their lawsuit against the camp’s owners after their 8-year-old daughter died in the flooding, say both camp locations are essentially the same.
“The only difference is that one is completely ruined by the water damage. And one was on a little bit higher ground,” Yarnell said, according to KXAN.
Camp Mystic officials also told The Independent that they reiterate their October 2025 invitation to Patrick and other Texas leaders to visit the campsite, but Patrick has not responded.
“We would like to invite you and the members of the Committees to visit Camp Mystic at your convenience,” camp officials said last year. “Our family will always be available as a resource… we believe having each member of the Committee physically tour the Camp location is the best and only way to learn what exactly happened.”
The Independent has contacted the DSHS and the Campaign for Camp Safety
Patrick’s appeal comes on the same day that the families of nine victims filed a federal lawsuit against DSHS, alleging the agency wrongfully issued a license to the camp shortly before the disaster, even though it lacked a required evacuation plan. The suit names six DSHS officials, including Shuford, as defendants.
Mikal Watts, a lawyer for Camp Mystic, told the New York Times that the suit against the agency was “without merit” and timed to apply pressure before licenses are set to be handed out.
In November, families of six children and two counselors killed in the flood sued the camp’s owners and others for alleged negligence, claiming staff prioritized saving equipment rather than the girls.
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