{"id":5169,"date":"2025-07-06T19:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T19:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5169"},"modified":"2025-07-06T19:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T19:07:12","slug":"a-girls-summer-camp-cut-short-by-deadly-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5169","title":{"rendered":"A girls’ summer camp cut short by deadly disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Gary O’Donoghue<\/span><\/p>\n

Chief North America correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

Reporting from<\/svg>Kerr County, Texas<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp perched on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, was a place of laughter, prayer and adventure just days ago.<\/p>\n

Among the girls at the camp was eight-year-old Renee Smajstrla, smiling ear-to-ear in a picture taken on one of those days – “having the time of her life” with her friends. <\/p>\n

But the next day, the camp she and so many other young girls loved turned into the site of one of the deadliest flood disasters in recent Texas history. <\/p>\n

Renee was among those killed.<\/p>\n

“She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic,” her uncle Shawn Salta wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Photos show the eerie aftermath: the bunk beds mud-caked and toppled, the detritus of a summer camp cut tragically short. <\/p>\n

Destroyed personal belongings are scattered across soaked interiors where children once gathered for Bible study and campfire songs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"CampCamp Mystic<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Renee Smajstrla<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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At least 59 people – among them the camp’s longtime director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, and several young campers – have been confirmed dead. <\/p>\n

Eleven of its campers and one camp counsellor are missing. Many of the unaccounted-for girls were reportedly sleeping in low-lying cabins less than 500ft (150m) from the riverbank.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the rain was pouring down as the BBC reached Camp Mystic.<\/p>\n

The entrance was cordoned off by police and the rubble of what might have been some kind of gatehouse was strewn across the ground.<\/p>\n

More rain is forecast, which will make the rescue effort even harder.<\/p>\n

Three days after the deluge, hope is fading and this is rapidly becoming a recovery exercise more than a rescue mission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Camp Mystic has been operated by the same family for generations, offering girls a chance to grow “spiritually” in a “wholesome” Christian atmosphere, according to its website. <\/p>\n

Families from all across Texas and the US send their daughters each summer to swim, canoe, ride horses and form lifelong friendships.<\/p>\n

But the beauty of the Guadalupe River, which draws so many to the area, also proved deadly.<\/p>\n

The floodwaters arrived with little warning, ripping through the picturesque riverfront area that is home to nearly 20 youth camps. <\/p>\n

Though Camp Mystic suffered the greatest losses, officials say the scale of the disaster is far-reaching.<\/p>\n

Nearby, the all-girls camp Heart O’ the Hills also faced flooding. <\/p>\n

Its co-owner and director, Jane Ragsdale, was among the dead. Fortunately, the camp was out of session at the time. <\/p>\n

A statement from the camp said, “Most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground\u2026 We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful.”<\/p>\n

An unknown number of other campers were in the area for the holiday weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Questions are mounting over why so many camps were situated so close to the river, and why more was not done to evacuate the children in time.<\/p>\n

Congressman Chip Roy, who represents the area, acknowledged the devastation while urging caution against premature blame.<\/p>\n

“The response is going to be, ‘We’ve gotta move all these camps – why would you have camps down here by the water?'” Roy said. <\/p>\n

“Well, you have camps by the water because it’s by the water. You have camps near the river because it’s a beautiful and wonderful place to be.”<\/p>\n

Families of the missing meanwhile face an agonising wait for news. Search and rescue teams – some navigating by boat, others combing through debris – are working round the clock.<\/p>\n

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Sunday the search for survivors continued.<\/p>\n

“Until we can get them reunited families, we are not going to stop,” City Manager Dalton Rice said.<\/p>\n

Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency, and officials warn the final toll may rise in the days to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gary O’Donoghue Chief North America correspondent Reporting fromKerr County, Texas Getty Images Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp perched on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, was a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6454,267,542,1455,4976,983,48],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nA girls' summer camp cut short by deadly disaster - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Camp Mystic, where young girls were having the "time of their life" just days ago, is now the site of one of the deadliest disasters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5169\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A girls' summer camp cut short by deadly disaster - 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