Camp Mystic fathers seek camp safety reforms after deadly floods

Ryan DeWitt and Matthew Childress will keep pressing for summer-camp safety changes after losing their daughters, Molly DeWitt, 9, and Chloe Childress, 18, in the Camp Mystic flood that killed 28 people at the all-girls private Christian camp in Hunt, Texas, and more than 130 across the Texas Hill Country. The two girls died in the same cabin.

The families have spent the past year trying to understand what happened before, during and after the night of the flood.

Parents of Camp Mystic victims testified before the Texas Senate in Austin in August 2025, and Gov. Greg Abbott signed three camp and flood safety laws on Sept. 5, 2025. The measures require camps to remove cabins from floodplains, maintain and update emergency plans, install warning systems and add ladders so campers can climb onto cabin roofs during floods. Abbott also created a $50 million grant program for flood warning sirens in flood-prone communities. Similar law changes have since reached Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

In June 2026, investigators released a report on the failed evacuation response. Investigators found Camp Mystic lacked written emergency plans that complied with state requirements, did not adequately prepare for the storm and did not evacuate in time despite having ample opportunities. They also found reunification and incident management were chaotic and traumatic for families. They faulted Kerr County officials as well, finding they were “substantially absent from duty” and failed to coordinate effectively with summer camps.

Camp Mystic later withdrew its application to reopen for summer 2026 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2026. The filing listed debts of $10 million to $50 million and assets of $1 million to $10 million.