Camp Mystic, the Christian summer camp for girls on the Guadalupe river where at least 20 children were missing in catastrophic flooding Friday, is nearly a century old. Its facilities include a recreation hall that was constructed in the 1920s from local cypress trees.
In a brief email to parents Friday morning, Camp Mystic said it had sustained “catastrophic level floods”. The camp has two sites along the river in Hunt, Texas.
Parents of campers who have not been accounted for have been notified, the email said. About 750 girls were at the camp this week, Lt Gov Dan Patrick of Texas said at a news conference Friday.
The camp said that it was assisting with search-and-rescue operations, but that it did not have power, water or wifi and was struggling to get more help because a nearby highway had washed away.
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On social media and in text messages, parents circulated photos of some of the missing girls, and exchanged hopeful stories that they were hearing about dramatic rescues: girls clinging to trees, or floating downriver to a boys camp 5 miles away.
Camp Mystic aims “to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem”, its website said. It draws from families around Texas and beyond, with the youngest campers entering third grade in the fall.
The camp was established in 1926, said its website, and has been run by generations of the same family since the 1930s. The current owners, Dick and Tweety Eastland, have been with the camp since 1974. They worked alongside the previous owners for years after graduating from the University of Texas in Austin. Camp activities include archery, cooking, cheerleading, fishing and a variety of sports. Videos posted to the camp’s Instagram account show large groups of girls participating in group dance performances this summer.
The affected stretch of the Guadalupe river is home to several summer camps for children, including Camp La Junta for boys, about 5 miles from Camp Mystic. The boys camp informed families Friday that all campers there were safe and fed, but that evacuations would not begin until at least 7pm local time Friday.
The Facebook page for another nearby girls camp, Heart o’ the Hills, reported that it was not in session when the flooding took place. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
