Camp Mystic withdraws 2026 license application, will not operate this summer

Camp Mystic announced Wednesday it is withdrawing its application for a 2026 summer camp license, effectively ending the possibility of the camp operating this summer under any circumstances.

The announcement came one day after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called publicly on the Eastland family to withdraw the application and cancel the season, and two days after 13 hours of testimony before the joint General Investigating Committee on the July 4, 2025, flood produced overwhelming legislative and public pressure to close the camp.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” the camp said in a statement released Wednesday.

The withdrawal resolves — at least for this summer — the regulatory standoff that dominated Tuesday’s hearing, in which the Texas Department of State Health Services disclosed a potential loophole under the Administrative Procedure Act that could have allowed Camp Mystic to continue operating even if its license was denied or revoked. By withdrawing the application, the camp removes that legal pathway entirely.

The statement acknowledged the pressure of the past two days directly. “This decision is intended to remove any doubt that Camp Mystic has heard the concerns expressed by grieving families, members of the Texas House and Senate investigating committees and citizens across our state. Respect for those voices requires that we step back now.”

The camp also acknowledged the more than 800 girls who had signed up to attend the Cypress Lake campus this summer. “Our special bond with our Camp Mystic families does not change or end with this announcement. We love each of you.”

The statement closed with a commitment to ongoing cooperation. “Camp Mystic will continue to fully cooperate with all ongoing investigations, comply with every lawful requirement and continue supporting recovery and healing efforts. Today is not about camp operations. It is about respect for the families, accountability to the public and reverence for the memory of the lives lost.”

What led here

The withdrawal caps a week of mounting pressure that began Monday with the first day of legislative testimony and accelerated through 13 hours of hearings over two days.

Monday’s session featured investigators Casey Garrett and Judge Michael Massengale presenting a forensic reconstruction of the disaster that established — in Garrett’s one-word answer to a direct question — that a written evacuation plan would have saved the children who died in Bubble Inn and Twins 1 and 2.

Tuesday brought the Eastland family to the witness chairs for four hours of pointed questioning from every member of the committee. Sen. Charles Perry told them directly: “Y’all will not be an operator next season. Because you just missed it and it was tragic.” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst begged Mary Liz Eastland to report the 27 deaths to DSHS — a legal obligation that has gone unfulfilled for 10 months. Rep. Paul Dyson called the camp’s shelter-in-place directive “the antithesis of an evacuation plan.”

The day’s most powerful moment came when CiCi Steward — the mother of Cile Steward, the only Camp Mystic camper whose remains have not been recovered — turned her back on the Legislature to face the Eastland family directly. “Neither a storm nor a river took her from us,” she told them. “The Eastland family’s complacency, hubris, and choices took her from her family, from her life, and from her future.”

Wednesday morning, Patrick posted publicly on Facebook calling on DSHS to act immediately and on the Eastland family to withdraw. “How many campers must die for a camp operator to lose their license?” he wrote. “Is it 1? 3? 5? 10? Is 27 not enough?”

Hours later, the camp withdrew.

What remains unresolved

The withdrawal of the license application does not end the legal, regulatory or criminal scrutiny of Camp Mystic or the Eastland family.

The Texas Rangers investigation into the deaths of 27 people is ongoing. The DSHS disciplinary investigation into hundreds of complaints stemming from the July 4 flood continues independently of the licensing question and could result in administrative penalties, license suspension or revocation regardless of whether the camp applies to operate.

The civil litigation — including the Steward family’s lawsuit and multiple wrongful death cases — continues. An arbitration hearing is scheduled for the week of May 13. The Eastland family has been seeking to move the cases into arbitration, a closed-door proceeding. That effort is expected to continue.

Mary Liz Eastland has still not reported the 27 deaths to DSHS as required by state law. That violation remains under active investigation.

Cile Steward has not been found.

The joint committee’s final report is expected in May. Whatever it recommends, Camp Mystic will not be open when the summer begins.