KERR COUNTY, Texas – Lawsuits began to be filed on Monday against Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and counselors died during the Fourth of July floods in the Hill Country.
By Tuesday, four lawsuits had been filed. Two were joint lawsuits by groups of victims’ families, including the Lytal family from San Antonio, who lost 8-year-old Kellyanne, who was named in one of those joint cases.
Individual families filed two other lawsuits: those of 8-year-old Eloise “Lulu” Peck and 8-year-old Ellen Getten.
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. Ellen was amazing. She was so excited to go to camp with her big sister,” Ellen’s mom, Jennifer Getten, told CNN through tears. “We would like them to acknowledge that they made some mistakes, and we would like for them to say our daughters’ names.”
After the lawsuits were filed, KSAT reached out to Camp Mystic. The camp’s media team quickly responded with two separate statements: one from the camp and another from its lawyers.
“We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God’s healing and comfort,” the camp’s statement said.
Below is the statement from Camp Mystic’s legal counsel:
“We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course.”
“We were supposed to pick our daughters up from camp on July 25. Instead, we had a funeral on July 16. We don’t want that to happen to anyone else ever. It’s unacceptable,” Ellen’s dad, Douglas Getten, said.
The Getten petition is among several filed by families who claim the camp provided no evacuation training, ignored flood warnings, and failed to evacuate campers.
“And had proper preparation been done, had proper planning been put in place, this entire event could have been avoided,” Getten’s lawyer, Kyle Findley, said.
Families within the Heaven’s 27 group released statements Monday as lawsuits were filed.
“We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do. This legal step is one of honoring her, and we believe that truth and justice are essential to finding peace — not only for our family, but for every family affected,” said Ryan DeWitt, whose daughter Molly DeWitt died at Camp Mystic. “We trust that through this process, light will be shed on what happened, and our hope is that justice will pave the way for prevention and much-needed safety reform.”
At least two of the lawsuits seek $1 million in damages.
For more details on the lawsuits, click here.
Watch families’ responses in the video below:
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