Camp Mystic hearing ends with emotional flood testimony in Austin

The final day of an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit against Camp Mystic owners has wrapped.

For the past three days, a court in Austin has heard testimony, which at times was emotional, about the actions of camp staff and their lack of preparedness the night historic flood waters rose and washed away several cabins, killing 25 campers and two counselors.

The hearing is part of a lawsuit to keep a temporary order in place to bar the camp from opening a different part of the camp for activities this summer. It has produced the most extensive details from camp operators of what happened in the flood, including missed chances to prepare for the storm, and the delayed decisions to evacuate.

The family of Cile Steward, the only camper whose body still hasn't been found, filed the lawsuit claiming the entire camp is still considered evidence and shouldn't reopen until their daughter's body is found, or until the state calls off search efforts for her.

While this hearing was about an order to keep the camp closed, the Eastland family, who run and direct the camp, were grilled about their actions that night last July.

And it all came to a head with back and forth between Britt Eastland, one of the co-directors, and the plaintiff's attorney, Brad Beckworth.

"Mr. Beckworth, I know you don't like the emergency evacuation plan, but that was a written evacuation plan that was approved for decades by the health department by many experts," Britt Eastland said.

"It was a written plan to stay in place," Beckworth said.

"Until leadership came," said Britt Eastland. "If there was another situation arose."

"You understand the reason we are actually here, right?" Beckworth said. "This is all about effort to preserve evidence in an evidence field, correct?"

"I don't believe that's your purpose," Britt Eastland responded. "I believe your purpose is to try the merits of the case right now in a temporary injunction hearing."

Camp Mystic security guard says an early evacuation order could have saved lives

The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of last year's deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order had come early in the storm, lives could have been saved.

Glenn Juenke, who helped move some girls to a two-story building before getting trapped inside a cabin himself, also saved a group of campers when he told them to run to higher ground as flood waters rose.

Juenke, called as a witness for the camp operators, said it was his decision to tell a group of campers to scramble on foot up a hillside as floodwaters rose, and it was not an order from camp directors or authorities.

He did not recall camp operators ever training the campers, counselors and staff on where to go in case an emergency evacuation was needed.

The camp's plan to reopen has angered families of the girls who were killed, and the camp's license is still under review by state health regulators. A judge last month ordered the camp to preserve damaged areas as evidence for pending lawsuits. That ruling is under appeal.

Describing the storm that came roaring through camp, Juenke said he first joined camp directors Dick and Edward Eastland in driving some of the girls away from their cabins. But Juenke later abandoned his truck when the water got too high to drive.

Now on foot, Juenke ordered a group of young girls to run to higher ground. He returned to another cabin, where he was soon trapped in waist-deep water. Storage trunks were tossed around the current before they were sucked out and away.

Juenke ordered the girls in the cabin to get on air mattresses, and they stayed floating there for several hours.

"It was a long night. We were getting bitten by fire ants. There were spiders ... The girls did everything I told them to do," Juenke said. None of the girls in that cabin died.

Juenke said they emerged around dawn. He then met up with Catie Eastland, one of the camp directors, near the two-story recreation building where about a hundred girls had escaped the flood.

"I said y'all could have had a million different evacuation plans, nothing would have worked," Juenke testified.

"You can blame it on Mother Nature or God Almighty, but if anyone had used the speakers or walkie-talkie and told them to leave before 3 (am), they would've survived," said Beckworth.

Juenke defended his actions and those of the staff that night.

"We did everything we could do in the time that we had," Juenke said.