Honestly, the numbers coming out of the Texas Hill Country last summer felt like something from a nightmare. You’ve probably seen the headlines or the viral posts on your feed about the girls at Camp Mystic. One minute, it’s the Fourth of July and kids are singing songs by the Guadalupe River. The next, a wall of water 26 feet high is ripping through cabins in the middle of the night.
Now that we are half a year removed from that horrific Friday morning, people are still asking the same haunting question: how many girls still missing from camp mystic?
The short answer is one. But getting to that single number took months of grueling search-and-recovery work through some of the thickest debris the state has ever seen. For a long time, the "official" count was a moving target.
The confusion of the early days
When the flood first hit on July 4, 2025, the rumors were everywhere. You had social media accounts claiming dozens of girls had vanished into thin air. At one point, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reported that 23 girls were unaccounted for. People were frantic. Because the camp had no power, no Wi-Fi, and the roads were completely washed out, the communication was basically non-existent.
In the chaos, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office was trying to piece together a manifest while their own deputies were literally pulling kids out of trees. It wasn't just campers, either. Counselors and staff were in the mix.
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By the numbers: The final tally
Eventually, the water receded and the grim reality set in. Here is what we actually know now, according to the latest reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety and Kerr County officials:
- 27 people from the Camp Mystic community lost their lives. This includes campers, counselors, and the camp’s longtime director, Dick Eastland.
- 750+ campers were on the grounds when the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes.
- One child remains officially missing as of January 2026.
Her name is Cile Steward. She is an 8-year-old from Austin who was only on her fifth day of camp when the flood hit. While her three friends from Austin—Linnie McCown, Abby Pohl, and Mary Stevens—were eventually found and identified, Cile hasn’t been brought home yet.
Why is it taking so long to find her?
You might wonder how someone can still be "missing" in a river. But if you’ve ever seen the Guadalupe after a flash flood, you know it’s not just water. It’s a literal grinder of cypress logs, smashed SUVs, and bits of building material.
The search crews have been using everything. Helicopters, sonar, cadaver dogs—the works. But the debris piles are several stories high in some places. Texas Ranger Chad Matlock and local game wardens have been "overturning every rock," as they put it, but the terrain is incredibly unforgiving.
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The misinformation problem
Because the search has dragged on, the internet did what the internet does. Conspiracy theories started popping up. Some people claimed the missing girls were "trafficked" because of some panda-print bedsheets found in a muddy cabin. Honestly, it was a mess.
Experts like Emma Ruby and social scientists have pointed out that when people are traumatized and don't have answers, they start looking for "villains" rather than accepting a freak natural disaster. But the reality is much simpler and much sadder: the river was just too fast and too strong.
What is happening now?
The conversation has shifted from "where are they" to "how do we stop this from happening again."
Cici Williams Steward, Cile’s mom, has been a powerhouse in the Texas Senate recently. She testified about the lack of safety protocols, pointing out that while the camp was in a known flood hazard area, the warnings didn't come fast enough to save the girls in the lower cabins.
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There is a new bill, SB 1, moving through the legislature right now. It’s designed to force summer camps to have better emergency plans and more reliable warning systems. It’s a bit of "too little, too late" for the families who lost their daughters, but they are fighting so no other parent has to wait for a 911 call that never comes.
The current status of Camp Mystic
The camp itself is largely in ruins. While some parts on the higher ground—what the girls call "Senior Hill"—were spared, the lower "flats" were decimated. It’s unclear if the camp will ever reopen in its original form.
For the families of the 27 victims, the "missing" status of Cile Steward is a constant, open wound for the whole community.
Actionable insights for parents
If you are sending your kids to a sleepaway camp this coming summer, here is what you need to actually check:
- Ask for the Flood Plan: Don't just ask if they have one. Ask where the "high ground" is and how they get kids there if the power goes out at 3:00 a.m.
- Check the FEMA Maps: You can look up any address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. See if the cabins are in a "Special Flood Hazard Area."
- Communication Backups: Ask the camp if they have satellite phones or a way to reach the outside world when the local cell towers go down during a storm.
The tragedy at Camp Mystic changed how Texas looks at summer safety forever. While the search for Cile continues, the legacy of the "Mystic Girls" is now tied to a push for better laws and better protection for every kid who just wants to go to camp and come home.
To keep up with the official search updates or to support the families, you can follow the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office bulletins or the "Cile Steward Search" updates through local Austin news outlets.