As state legislators tour Camp Mystic, locals want a wider investigation

KERR COUNTY, Texas – Underneath a slow drizzle Monday afternoon, a group of Texas legislators moved among the empty buildings and fields of Camp Mystic, envisioning the verdant, riverside campus under a much harder and deadlier rain.

Members of the Texas House and Senate general investigating committees on the July 2025 Flooding Events, were appointed in October 2025. At the time, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the Senate committee’s task was “to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the July flooding, including actions taken at youth summer camps.”

As he left Camp Mystic on Monday, State Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio), a member of the Senate committee, told KSAT that an attorney and a former judge had been brought in to do an independent investigation. They were the ones to walk the legislators through the site, he said.

“It’s very solemn, painful to hear and see where those little children, those little innocent girls lost their lives. It’s a lot of information,” Menéndez said. “Next week at the public hearing, we’re going to all hear the information of exactly what happened that fateful night."

The camp lost 27 campers and counselors, as well as co-owner Dick Eastland, during the July 4 flooding.

However, some Kerr County residents are worried the committees’ focus has become too narrow.

Along the riverside road to the camp, clusters of people held up signs evoking the 119 people who died throughout the entire county, hoping to catch the legislators’ eyes as they arrived.

“I hope these legislators are seeing the devastation to our community and recognize that it wasn’t just a small section of the river,” organizer Elizabeth Schneider said, “that it was all of us that were impacted by the flood and hundreds of people across the state lost loved ones. I hope they remember that and do their job.”

Schneider said she spoke to legislators and staffers from both committees, who said they were only tasked with investigating what happened from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. and only the deaths at Camp Mystic.

She also shared an audio recording with KSAT, she said was State Sen. Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton), the chairman of the Senate committee, making similar remarks during a speaking appearance in March.

“So what the (Speaker of the House) and the Lieutenant Governor have instructed us on that is to investigate a three-hour window from the time of notification to the time of the death — the 27 little girls at Camp Mystic — and say what happened in those three hours because it’s kind of missing," Flores said in the recording. “From that, we’ll see what worked and what didn’t work.”

KSAT has not independently verified the recording, and Flores’ office declined to provide a comment in response to concerns about the committee’s scope of focus.

Farther west down Texas State Highway 39, Lindsey Roberson held signs saying “I was in a tree,” and “Sarah, Mark + Johnny forever in our hearts.”

“We’re all hurting, and we all need answers, and we also all need solutions for the future because I had nine feet of water in my house, and I’m sleeping there tonight in the rain,” Roberson said. “I want to know that the state is accountable, and they need to look at the flood in its entirety...prevent this from happening again."

Menéndez confirmed to KSAT the committees were focused on Camp Mystic but said he didn’t know whether the scope had been narrowed.

“It’s limited to Camp Mystic because of the fact that they’re applying to reopen,” Menéndez said. “It’s limited to that — to the actions that occurred, I think, because of that fact that these children were entrusted to these people. This was a business meant to house and keep children safe."

However, Menéndez also said he “completely” agrees there needs to be a wider look at what happened.

“I think we have, as a state, to work together with our county officials and our local officials to find out what could be done, what can be done to prevent this,” Menéndez said. “And was there any negligence that anybody needs to be held accountable for what happened here?”

But whether the committee tackles it is up to Lt. Gov. Patrick and Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows.

The camp has applied to renew its license at a separate, nearby portion of the camp that was undamaged by the flooding, Camp Mystic Cypress Lake.

The Department of State Health Services, assisted by the Texas Rangers, are investigating hundreds of complaints and allegations against the camp.

Spokesmen from both DSHS and the Department of Public Safety told KSAT on Monday they had no updates.

Representatives for Camp Mystic said in an emailed statement they were pleased about the committees’ visit to Kerr County.

“We look forward to supporting them in their efforts to gain a thorough and accurate understanding of what happened at Camp Mystic and across the Kerr County community during the early hours of July 4,” the statement said in part.

Read more:

• Was Camp Mystic’s flood response a crime? Former DA weighs in on what criminal investigation could look like
• Amid license review, Camp Mystic being investigated by Texas Rangers and state health officials