27 died at Camp Mystic. Why are 800 families going back?

On July 4, in a single day, at least 27 girls and counselors died at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country when the Guadalupe River flooded their cabins. In the aftermath, more than 20 lawsuits have been filed against the camp and the Eastland family who run it.

One of those lawsuits, filed by the parents of an 8-year-old girl who is still missing, prompted a three-day hearing in Travis County. A judge found the camp may have violated Texas law by failing to maintain an evacuation plan or provide safety training, supporting a finding of negligence.

Even so, Camp Mystic is seeking to reopen – and about 800 families have already enrolled their daughters.

Camp Mystic’s reopening has split this Texas community

There’s no question Mystic failed these campers and their families and should remain closed. In testimony, one of the camp’s directors admitted that there was no written evacuation plan, despite being in a region known as “Flash Flood Alley.”

Staff didn’t hold meetings about the warnings or use loudspeakers to move campers to higher ground.

In the aftermath, the camp’s community has split. Some parents, grieving daughters they say died because of that negligence, want it shut down for good. Others are sending their children back, driven by a deep loyalty to the camp and the families who run it.

As a mom of four, I can’t ignore that divide. Why send your child back to a place where this happened? And what does that decision say about how parents weigh risk, trust and grief?

Loyalty – and the search for healing

Some families say they’re sending their daughters back because of their bond with Camp Mystic and the Eastland family. For many, that loyalty runs generations deep – mothers and even grandmothers attended the camp, and the community it created is part of its appeal.

Camp leaders have leaned into that. “We recognize that returning to Camp Mystic carries both hope and heartache,” the owners wrote to families in December. “For many of your daughters, this return is not simple, but it is a courageous step in their healing journey.”

Not everyone sees it that way. The parents of six girls who died called the reopening “insensitive.”

Others are making a more personal calculation. Liberty Lindley, whose daughter Evie survived the flood, has said she plans to send her back. “I know some people don’t understand that or think that’s crazy,” Lindley said.

Evie has called Camp Mystic her “grounding place,” according to TexasMonthly. “I would never send Evie somewhere where I thought I might lose her,” her mother said. “And there are not many families, really, outside of the Eastlands that I trust with Evie.”

But that logic rings hollow for families who lost daughters there.

Christina Yarnell, a lawyer representing one of those families, warned against that mindset.

“Camp Mystic built something extraordinarily powerful – a multigenerational bond so strong that mothers whose daughters nearly drowned are still defending it,” Yarnell said. “That loyalty is real. It is also exactly what the Eastlands are counting on. And it is precisely why it must be examined, and not honored, not rushed, not buried under a hundred years of tradition.”

Few parents seem to be sending their children back simply because conditions may be safer under increased scrutiny. Many believe the camp still offers something deeper – community, character, even joy despite tragedy. For some, that looks a lot like faith.

Parents can’t shield their children from every hardship, nor should they try; growth often comes from challenge. But there’s a difference between ordinary risk and sending a child back to a place that has yet to fully reckon with failures that led to loss of life.

Both sets of parents believe they’re doing what’s right for their daughters. But belief isn’t the same as judgment. And in this case, they’re not equally sound.

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Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 4:17 PM with the headline "27 died at Camp Mystic. Why are 800 families going back?."