Between tears and anger, mothers and fathers of children who died at Camp Mystic in central Texas in a flood on July 4 pleaded with state lawmakers Wednesday to toughen safety at summer camps.
One by one, the parents proudly described their young children’s personalities, quirks and achievements before they shared their nightmare of grief, guilt and loss through tears and sobs. But they also admonished lawmakers to approve a series of reforms that could prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Their heartbreaking testimony in the bicameral committee hearing also led some senators to cry.
Among the parents who testified were the mother and father of Cile Steward, the only girl still missing out of 27 children and counselors who died at the girls’ camp when the Guadalupe River overflowed several feet in a matter of hours, sweeping through wooded summer camps, homes and businesses.
A total of 120 people were killed in Kerr County, including those from Camp Mystic.
Cile’s mother, CiCi Williams Steward, told the lawmakers she had been assured that the safety of the girls at Camp Mystic was paramount. But that assurance was “betrayed” by obvious and commonsense safety measures and protocols that were absent or ignored, she said.
“As a result, my daughter was stolen from us not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures,” she said through tears. “Cile remains somewhere in the devastation of the Guadalupe River. We remain trapped in agony until she is brought home.”
Reforms proposed in legislation that the committee approved on a voice vote and that the Senate is expected to consider Thursday night “must occur so this tragedy never happens again,” Williams Steward said. Separate legislation is being drafted to address warning systems and disaster response.
All of the parents who testified and a handful of owners of other camps along the Guadalupe River said they support the disaster preparedness bill. The legislation has been dubbed the “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.”
“Had the requirements of SB 1 been in place on July 4, I have no doubt that some lives, if not all lives, would have been saved,” said the committee’s chairman, Charles Perry, a Republican.
The legislation would apply to all campgrounds, and it would be more stringent for youth camps, the Senate said in a statement.
Some of the measures the legislation calls for include a requirement that camps file comprehensive emergency plans for natural disasters and that cabins in flood plains have rooftop exits, as well as fire emergency plans, the statement said.
The camps would also have to conduct evacuation drills with campers, and staff members would have to undergo annual training, the Senate said.
The legislation would require emergency evacuations to higher ground when a flood warning is issued for an area.
Camp Mystic said in a statement Wednesday that it could not comment on specific legislation because it was focused on recovery, but it “supports legislative efforts that will make camps and communities along the Guadalupe River safer.”
“The safety and well-being of every camper is our priority, and our policies and practices are designed to ensure a safe and supportive environment,” it said.
The parents, including some whose family members had attended Camp Mystic over generations, repeatedly criticized its operators while also saying they love the camp and want camps to continue, albeit with many more safety measures in place.
“Camp Mystic was completely unprepared for the flooding that cost my daughter her life,” said Davin Hunt, father of Janie Hunt, 9, a relative of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. “Since that day, our life has been a living nightmare.”
Davin Hunt said his daughter’s death left him with gut-wrenching dreams, when he can sleep, that sometimes depict a trip to the funeral home, where he prays, “Lord and Savior, please kill me; take my life, not my daughter, Janie.”
A few parents expressed anger about having learned after their children’s deaths that some of the Camp Mystic structures had been removed from 100-year flood maps, allowing for exemptions from some regulations.
“We feel guilty because we sent our girls to a camp we thought was safe,” said Doug Hanna, father of Hadley, who he said was 8 years, 4 months and 22 days old. “Don’t get me wrong, we love camp. … We thought Camp Mystic was safe. We didn’t know we were sending our daughters to sleep in cabins that were removed from the flood plain through an administrative process.”
Speaking about the changes the bill proposes, Perry said such exemptions or carve-outs would no longer be allowed.
“No more waivers. Just, in a nutshell, don’t ask for them,” he said. “If you are a camp owner seeking a waiver, don’t come to the state seeking waivers. You’re not going to get them.”
The parents repeatedly said that the testimony and any legislation approved would not relieve their grief but that they hoped it would help other parents.
Brent Dillon, father of Lucy Dillon, 8, urged the lawmakers to ensure that when parents entrust their children to camps they are sending them to safe camps, where operators are prepared and emergency plans are sufficient, executable and enforceable.
“Today I sit before you a broken man. When Lucy left for camp, it was the very first time she had ever slipped away from us,” Dillon said. “We entrusted her to the camp operators, and never for a moment did we believe she would return to us in a casket.”
