Overview
- A special joint legislative committee on Thursday adopted a 115-page investigative report by Casey Garrett and Michael Massengale that reconstructs the Camp Mystic timeline and lists cascading operational failures.
- Investigators found Camp Mystic lacked state-required written emergency plans and did not order an earlier evacuation despite National Weather Service flash-flood warnings that left time to reach higher ground.
- The report documents severe communication breakdowns: counselors’ cellphones were confiscated, no replacement radios were issued, and walkie-talkie calls for help went unanswered.
- Staffing and training shortfalls worsened the crisis because some cabins had reduced counselor-to-camper ratios and many adult staffers had no assigned evacuation roles or drills.
- Camp Mystic has abandoned plans to reopen for summer 2026 and faces multiple wrongful-death suits, while lawmakers say most issues were addressed by 2025 laws and plan to close a remaining gap about counselors’ ability to reach camp owners in 2027.