AUSTIN, Texas – The parents of Camp Mystic flood victims delivered emotional testimonies before the Texas Senate Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1.
Camp Mystic, located along the Guadalupe River outside of Hunt, Texas, saw devastation from the July 4 flooding. Twenty-seven campers were killed, as well as camp counselors.
Earlier this month, Kerr County officials identified 117 victims. Two people remain missing.
Texas Senator Charles Perry said SB1 was introduced to reform safety standards for campgrounds and youth camps.
“Senate Bill 1 implements basic campground safety requirements,” Perry said.
If passed, SB1 would require camps in flood-prone areas to abide by certain regulations. The regulations would include having an evacuation plan for additional emergencies, in addition to fires or a missing camper — such as flash floods.
SB1 would also require camps to be listed online with an active license. For a camp to renew or be granted a new license, they would be prohibited from having cabins in floodplains. Camps would also be required to have operating radios providing real-time weather alerts from a professional weather service.
The bill also requires the evacuation route on camp grounds to remain lit at night. Also of importance, as written, SB1 would require the installation and maintenance of an emergency warning system that is “capable of alerting all campers and camp occupants of an emergency and includes a public address system operable without reliance on an Internet connection.”
“Had the requirements of SB1 been in place the night of July 4, I have no doubt that some lives, if not all lives, would have been saved on the camp front,” Perry said.
For SB1 to be passed, it would need to be approved by a majority in both the House and Senate before being sent to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.
Wednesday was the first time that the families appeared publicly before state legislators since the Fourth of July floods.
Parent of only Camp Mystic victim still missing testifies
Cici Williams Steward, accompanied by her husband Will, spoke with visible emotion about their daughter, Cile, the only camper who remains missing from Camp Mystic.
Steward expressed her unwavering support for SB1.
“We are here today for two reasons,” Steward said. “First, to express our unwavering support for SB1, the campaign for camp safety. Second, we are here to speak of our precious daughter, Cile.”
Steward said the couple’s personal loss motivated their advocacy.
“Joy and growth cannot exist without safety,” Steward said. “Cile’s chance to experience camp only existed because I was assured that her safety and the safety of all the young girls were paramount.”
“That assurance was betrayed. Obvious, common-sense safety measures were absent,” Steward continued. “Protocols that should have been in place were ignored. As a result, our daughter was stolen from us.”
Steward shared the painful reality of not knowing her daughter’s whereabouts after more than a month after the floods.
“Forty-eight days later, Cile remains somewhere in the devastation of the Guadalupe River,” Steward said. “We are forced to pray for the day when our child’s body is found to call that good news.”
While acknowledging that legislation cannot undo Cile’s death, Steward called SB1 a vital step toward preventing future tragedies.
“This legislation cannot bring back our daughters, but it is the beginning of change that must occur so that this tragedy never happens again,” she said. “It is the start of a promise that their lives and their deaths will mean change.”
Woman says daughter’s body was found over five miles from Camp Mystic
Katelyn Bonner said her daughter, Lyla, turned 9 years old just days before she was sent to Camp Mystic.
“Lyla turned 9 years old on June 26, three days before we drove into the gates of Camp Mystic,” Bonner said. “Her little sisters are now attempting to navigate a world without her.”
Bonner told the committee that she had written letters for Lyla when she was born. She hoped to share them with her when she became older.
“I never imagined that I would be the one reading them to her at her funeral, most certainly not because she lost her life at Camp Mystic, where I spent 10 summers,” Bonner said.
Bonner also shared details about the recovery of Lyla’s belongings and her body, highlighting the distance from the camp and where they were found.
“A piece of her purple trunk, that I so lovingly and so meticulously packed, was recovered at the dam, 11.1 miles from camp,” she said. “Her body was found 5.6 miles from camp behind the Hunt store.”
Bonner reflected on the lasting impact that Lyla’s death will likely have on her youngest child.
“Our 2-year-old will likely never remember her oldest sister aside from photos and videos,” Bonner said.
She concluded with a call to action to the committee.
“I implore all of you to act quickly and pass SB1 to protect campers before next summer and to ensure that there will never be another ‘Heaven’s Twenty-Seven’ due to camp complacency,” Bonner said.
‘She came home in a plywood box’
“She left for camp full of excitement and joy,” Lindsey Hunt said. “She came home in a plywood box.”
Hunt spoke to committee members about the pain her family continues to endure since July 4.
“It’s impossible to put into words the depths of our grief and the magnitude of this loss,” Hunt said. “The trauma we are dealing with, replaying the nightmare of having to identify her tiny, muddy body.”
Hunt said her daughter’s death can have added meaning through legislative action.
“This vote gives meaning to these deaths, shining a light on her trait of caring for others by making the summer camp industry safe for other children,” Hunt said. “If these 27 little voices could be heard today, they would say please vote in favor of SB1, safer camps, so that no other parent would experience this darkness again.”
Hunt said she hopes her daughter’s memory could potentially protect future campers.
“We can’t bring our daughter back, but you can make her memory a shield for every child that will step onto a camp bus next summer,” Hunt said. “You have the power to make sure that camps are places of joy and not danger.”
More Hill Country flood coverage on KSAT: