Camp Mystic director breaks down in court saying he wished he had more information before catastrophic flood

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By Andy Rose, Lauren Mascarenhas, Danya Gainor, CNN

(CNN) — For the second day in a row, a director of Camp Mystic — the rural Christian summer camp in Texas that was overwhelmed by flood waters last year — broke down in tears in a courtroom when asked about Cile Steward, one of the 27 girls and counselors who died in the disaster.

“I wish we had more information” before a decision was made to evacuate the camp, Edward Eastland testified Tuesday as he answered questions about the hours leading up to the catastrophic July 4 flooding at the camp’s Guadalupe River campus and the chaos that followed.

“All the information was there … if y’all had just stayed awake and looked, right?” responded Brad Beckworth, an attorney representing the Steward family.

The three-day hearing is part of a civil lawsuit brought by the Steward family and comes after Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble initially ordered the temporary shutdown of the camp’s flooded areas, saying the closure is necessary to preserve evidence.

Camp Mystic is challenging the continuation of the temporary injunction as it plans to open again this summer at its neighboring Cypress Lake location, which is on higher ground. It separately appealed the decision to an appellate court in March.

Although he remained composed for most of his time on the stand, Eastland began sobbing when asked about his rescue efforts and the Stewards’ 8-year-old daughter, whose body has not been recovered.

“I don’t remember her being there,” Eastland said when asked if he saw Cile Steward that night. “It was…” he began before his voice trailed off in tears.

Later on Tuesday during a somber moment on the stand, Mary Liz Eastland, Edward Eastland’s wife and the camp director in charge of the nursing staff, testified about her actions as the camp where she spent more than three decades — first as a camper then as a staff member — saw floodwaters rise.

“You knew the property. You knew the flood lines. You knew access points. Your children knew them. And these were first-year campers,” Christina Yarnell, another attorney representing the Steward family, said to Mary Liz Eastland. “You had 34 more years of experience than Cile. She needed your help, and you abandoned her, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied.

When asked why she didn’t do more to help the campers, Mary Liz Eastland spoke about being physically unable to reach them due to the flooding.

“I knew I couldn’t get ahold of them,” she said.

The Stewards’ attorneys said in a statement that Tuesday’s proceedings produced testimony “highly relevant to any parent and any State of Texas regulator deciding whether children should ever be allowed to be in the Eastlands’ care again — and we encourage all of them to read every word before making any decisions.”

Judge’s decision could shape evidence available at upcoming trial

Two months after the Steward family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Camp Mystic and its owners, Tuesday’s hearing marked an early-stage fight to preserve key evidence from the July 4 floods before the case moves forward. Gamble, the district judge, is deciding whether to continue her order last month that temporarily shut down the camp’s flooded areas.

At issue is whether the Texas camp can continue rebuilding after the floods tore through cabins and fields, or if it must preserve what the Stewards describe as critical physical evidence, including campers’ sleeping cabins, floodwater markings, building access routes and communication systems that were in place at the time of the disaster.

The family argued in court filings the case may ultimately hinge on that physical evidence, saying changes to the site could make it more difficult for experts to reconstruct how the flood unfolded or assess whether campers had viable evacuation options.

The Stewards have also asked the court to bar any commercial use of the property, which could prevent the camp from operating during the proceedings. Court filings show Camp Mystic owners have been evaluating plans to reopen, even as state investigations continue and families push regulators to reconsider the camp’s license.

The judge’s decision, expected later this week, is likely to shape both the physical evidence available at trial and the timeline — or possibility — of Camp Mystic reopening.

Missed weather warnings

Edward Eastland described for hours how camp staff responded to the flooding and said he did not see flood warnings from the National Weather Service or the state’s emergency management department before the storm hit.

He said he did not see a text message that a flood warning had been issued in the middle of the night as the campus was pounded by rain.

“I am signed up for the CodeRED alerts, and I did not get this warning,” Eastland said in a court hearing Monday, acknowledging he was asleep at the time and did not see the text on his phone.

Eastland said he believed the flood warning that failed to wake him up should have been louder than a regular text.

“I think it should have been a more urgent alert,” Eastland said Tuesday. “I think it should have been one of those government alerts that sounds like an AMBER Alert.”

The Steward family’s attorney, Beckworth, said the camp should have been better prepared for the catastrophe given the dire statements being put out by the National Weather Service.

But the camp’s attorney, Mikal Watts, pointed out the state’s warning was not sent directly to camp organizers by email or text, while the flood watch issued on July 3 encompassed an area of more than 12,000 square miles.

The Stewards’ attorney said Camp Mystic did not have an evacuation plan as required by state law. Eastland denied this but said he was unable to produce the camp’s plan.

“I have searched all of our files that I can that were from my dad’s office that are muddy, and I cannot find it, no,” he said. His father, Dick Eastland, was the camp’s 70-year-old co-owner and died while trying to save campers.

“What you had written down was, ‘Stay in your cabins.’ That was a command that killed 27 children, didn’t it?” Beckworth said.

Those deaths have not officially been reported to Texas health regulators, as required by state code, according to Yarnell, one of the family’s attorneys.

When asked about why she had not reported the campers’ deaths within the mandated 24 hours, Mary Liz Eastland said, “I did not think of this requirement in the moments happening after the flood.”

The camp director said she did not remember when she learned the children had died, telling Yarnell it could’ve been a day or more after the flood.

It is unclear whether the missed report could impact the camp’s license approval.

Although this year’s Camp Mystic events are not scheduled to take place at the flooded site, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked the Department of State Health Services to prevent the camp from being operated again this summer at all.

“You should not renew or approve a camp license for Camp Mystic, or any other camp the same operators intend to run, until your investigation, and all criminal and legislative investigations are complete and necessary corrective actions are taken,” Patrick wrote in a letter to the agency.

Texas health regulators are investigating hundreds of complaints filed against the camp owners and the Texas Rangers, the primary criminal investigative branch of the Texas Department of Public Safety, are also helping look into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, The Associated Press reported.

The hearing will continue Wednesday.

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