Judge allows Camp Mystic to move forward with summer plans; orders owners to leave flood-ravaged section untouched

A Travis County judge on Wednesday allowed Camp Mystic to move forward with summer plans but ordered the owners to leave the flood-ravaged section of the camp completely untouched – a split ruling that gave both sides reason to claim partial victory eight months after the catastrophic July 4 floods that killed 27 people at the site.

Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled that Camp Mystic cannot demolish, repair, or reconstruct the cabins where campers slept when the floodwaters struck, and that the camp cannot modify its grounds, office building, recreation hall, or commissary – all focal points in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of 8-year-old camper Cile Steward, whose body has still not been found.

The court order, which will be finalized in the coming days, does not block Camp Mystic from reopening its neighboring Cypress Lake camp site, where cabins did not flood, this summer.  The judge asked attorneys to return with a map showing a clear boundary between the Guadalupe River portion where children died and the Cypress Lake portion the camp seeks to reopen.

The hearing drew a packed courtroom.  At least 200 people attended, with Camp Mystic supporters wearing green shirts on one side and grieving families wearing buttons bearing the girls’ faces on the other.

Families of several victims have sued the camp’s operators, alleging officials failed to take necessary steps to protect campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.

Camp attorney Mikal Watts said Mystic had already enrolled more than 800 girls for the summer with nearly $3 million in tuition at stake if the camp could not reopen at all.