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In a devastating turn of events along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, at least 13 lives have been confirmed lost, and 23 girls are still unaccounted for following a catastrophic flash flood that struck Camp Mystic, a well-known all-girls Christian summer camp in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Among those at the center of this unfolding tragedy are Camp Director Dick Eastland, his wife Tweety, and an unnamed but heroic Twins cabin counselor, whose actions during the early morning hours of July 4, 2025, turned what could have been a total catastrophe into a story of miraculous survival.

Dick Eastland, fearing the worst for the girls staying in the Bubble Innโ€”a cabin vulnerable to rising watersโ€”made the decision to drive through the camp in the middle of the night to reach the girls and initiate an emergency evacuation. In doing so, Eastland and five campers were swept away by the ferocious current of the Guadalupe River. Against the odds, they were later found alive five miles downstream, a stunning revelation in the midst of heartbreak and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, in another section of the camp known as the Twins cabinโ€”the designated housing for the youngest campersโ€”a young counselor awoke to find water nearly up to her chin. With no time to spare, she made the split-second decision to push the girls one by one out of the cabinโ€™s window, yelling for them to hold tightly to a nearby clothesline. She, too, was swept away by the force of the floodwaters but was later rescued. Eyewitness accounts and early reports now confirm that the children she guided to safety managed to hold on, surviving the initial flood surge. Her bravery, combined with that of Eastlandโ€™s, stands as a beacon amid the devastation that has engulfed Camp Mystic.

The flash flood, brought on by intense storms overnight, caused the Guadalupe River to rise an astonishing 22 feet in just 30 minutes. At its peak, the water surged to 30 feet in nearby Comfort, Texasโ€”an unprecedented surge that transformed the landscape, submerged infrastructure, and decimated entire swaths of the summer camp. Camp Mystic, which was housing approximately 750 girls between the ages of 7 and 17, suddenly found itself in the path of a natural disaster the likes of which the region has not seen in decades.

Search and rescue operations continue to intensify as officials from Kerr County Emergency Management, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Coast Guard, and FEMA coordinate ground and air efforts. Over 500 personnel and 18 helicopters have been deployed across the area. Camp cabins were ripped from their foundations, roads leading to the site are washed out, and communications infrastructure remains severed, cutting off phone and internet access to the site. Those whose daughters are missing have already been notified, according to a statement released by the camp.

The emotional toll is palpable. As names of the missing began to circulateโ€”Lila Bonner, Eloise Peck, Hadley Hanna, Kellyanne Lytal, Lainey Landry, Janie Hunt, Renee Smajstrla, Cile Steward, Virginia Hollis, Margaret Sheedy, Molly Dewitt, Anna Margaret Bellows, Blakely McCrory, Mary Grace Baker, Linnie McCown, Greta Toranzo, Sarah Marsh, Wynne Naylor, Katherine Ferruzzo, and Bella Kate, along with othersโ€”the communityโ€™s grief turned to collective prayer and hopeful vigilance.

In a Friday afternoon press conference, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick confirmed the scale of the crisis, emphasizing the number of children still missing and the commitment of state and federal resources to aid the response. Texas Senator Ted Cruz echoed the sentiments in a public message, urging the nation to pray for the girls and their families. Local leaders, including Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly and Sheriff Larry Leitha, reinforced the grim reality: lives have been lost, children are missing, and the search is far from over.

Camp Mystic, founded nearly 100 years ago, has long been a cherished sanctuary for spiritual reflection, personal growth, and deep friendships forged in cabins with names like Bubble Inn and Twins. It was supposed to be a summer of laughter and learning, but instead, it has become the epicenter of one of the worst natural disasters in recent Texas memory.

As crews continue to search treetops, river bends, and muddy ravines, every rescue is a miracle, every update a lifeline for those waiting. And while the heartbreak is enormous, so too is the courage on displayโ€”from directors who drove into danger to save children, to counselors who refused to abandon their cabins, to young girls who held tightly to a lifeline in the literal and figurative darkness.

This is a developing story of both loss and survival, tragedy and bravery, with the next chapters still unfolding in real time along the flood-scarred banks of the Guadalupe River.

The community of Hunt, Texas, has begun to transform from a quiet Hill Country retreat into a hub of first responder activity. Helicopters thrum overhead as rescue teams continue combing miles of flood-swollen riverbanks. What was once a scenic summer landscape has now become a zone of chaos, lined with debris from collapsed cabins, floating trees, and overturned vehicles.

Federal emergency management personnel arrived just before dawn on July 5, joining Texas state agencies already stretched to capacity. Satellite imagery and drone surveillance are now being used to locate any sign of human lifeโ€”clothing caught on branches, footprints on muddy ground, or movement on remote embankments. Each new piece of evidence adds to the mosaic investigators and rescue teams are trying to piece together.

Dick Eastlandโ€™s miraculous survival story has become a powerful moment of hope. A veteran camp director, known affectionately among campers and staff as โ€œTweetyโ€™s husband,โ€ Eastland had long carried the weight of responsibility for hundreds of young girls each summer. His decision to act aloneโ€”to jump in his vehicle and make for the vulnerable Bubble Inn cabinโ€”demonstrates a profound moral clarity and instinct for protection. He was found clinging to debris alongside the five girls he tried to rescueโ€”mud-soaked, shaken, but alive. Their survival has given strength to other families, who still await news.

Meanwhile, the Twins cabin counselor, whose name has not yet been released, has become an emblem of youthful bravery. Faced with the unthinkableโ€”rising water in the darkness, surrounded by sleeping childrenโ€”she acted with astonishing clarity. By helping her campers escape out the window and guiding them to cling to a clothesline, she gave them a chance. Her voice screaming “Hold on!” as she was carried away by the current echoes across social media feeds and news broadcasts as a rallying cry of hope and courage.

Camp Mysticโ€™s legacy is now intertwined with this calamity. Its nearly century-long tradition of fellowship and faith has been violently disrupted. And yet, the very values it instillsโ€”resilience, leadership, selflessnessโ€”are being lived out moment by moment in the actions of its staff, survivors, and community. There are no rehearsals for events like these. Yet somehow, some were prepared.

The next few days will be critical. Officials are urging anyone with a boat, rescue skills, or information to assist. Families remain camped out near roadblocks and staging areas, holding up pictures of daughters, praying aloud, clinging to news. For them, time crawls forward with every passing hour of silence.

What began as the worst night in Camp Mysticโ€™s history may yet reveal itself as a defining moment of community resilienceโ€”and a case study in the unpredictable force of nature that, in a matter of minutes, can reshape lives forever.