Families of Six Girls File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Camp Mystic Following Deadly July Flood

Lawsuit says campers were knowingly housed in designated floodplain, ordered to remain in cabins as floodwaters rose

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The families of six young girls who drowned during a flash flood at Camp Mystic this summer have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Travis County District Court, alleging that the camp’s owners and operators ignored flood warnings, lacked emergency protocols for flood conditions, failed to protect campers, and concealed the dangers of cabin locations on their riverside property.

This lawsuit seeks justice for the families of six of the 27 girls who tragically died on the morning of July 4, 2025: Virginia “Wynne” Naylor, Hadley Hanna, and Jane “Janie” Hunt of Dallas; Lucy Dillon of Houston; Kellyanne Lytal of San Antonio; and Virginia Hollis of Bellville, Texas. Each of the girls perished in the early morning hours of July 4, 2025, when rising floodwaters from the Guadalupe River inundated their cabins at the historic Hill Country camp.

According to the lawsuit filed by The Lanier Law Firm, Camp Mystic’s management company and related entities, along with members of the Eastland family who have owned and operated the camp for decades, acted with “negligence, recklessness, and gross negligence” that directly led to the children’s deaths. The lawsuit contends that, without the knowledge of parents, the camp knowingly housed campers in cabins situated inside a FEMA-designated floodplain, despite the property’s long history of catastrophic flooding.

The filing details a devastating timeline of warnings and inaction. On July 3, state and federal weather agencies issued multiple flash flood alerts for areas surrounding the camp. By 1:14 a.m. on July 4, the National Weather Service declared a “life-threatening” flash flood emergency for the region. The lawsuit alleges the camp had no formal evacuation plan and camp directors failed to evacuate and instructed counselors and campers to stay in their cabins even as the water rose.

According to reports, some campers defied those orders and escaped to higher ground just yards away and survived while younger girls, including the children named in the lawsuit, drowned as floodwaters filled their cabins.

“This case is about accountability,” said attorney Mark Lanier. “These six families entrusted Camp Mystic with the lives of their 8- and 9-year-old daughters, but the owners failed in every conceivable way. Unfortunately, it is now apparent that litigation is the only way to implement the changes to assure that no other child dies from the same preventable failures.”

The filing also accuses the defendants of concealing the camp’s flood risk, citing FEMA maps that placed Camp Mystic within a “Special Flood Hazard Area.” Plaintiffs allege the Eastland family petitioned to remove cabins from floodplain designations to reduce insurance costs and continue marketing the camp as “safe.”

The lawsuit’s claims include liability for wrongful death, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and failure to warn. The filing seeks actual and exemplary damages, and policy changes to improve safety and emergency preparedness across Texas youth camps.

About The Lanier Law Firm

For more than 30 years, the men and women at The Lanier Law Firm have worked tirelessly, throughout the United States, to find unique and effective solutions for their clients. More than 50 skilled attorneys practice law in a broad array of areas, including business litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, asbestos exposure, oil and gas litigation, personal injury as well as defective and dangerous products, among others. Named an Elite Trial Law Firm by The National Law Journal, The Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles. To learn more, visit http://www.lanierlawfirm.com.