It is a question that haunts the Texas Hill Country and keeps a grieving family in Austin in a state of suspended animation. The short answer, and the most heartbreaking one, is yes. Cile Steward is still missing.
As of January 2026, the 8-year-old girl who vanished during the catastrophic Fourth of July floods in 2025 remains one of the two known victims of the disaster whose remains have not been recovered. While the headlines have largely moved on to other things, the reality for the Steward family hasn't changed. They are stuck in what Cile’s mother, CiCi Williams Steward, described during a Senate hearing as a "torture chamber of uncertainty."
The Night Everything Changed at Camp Mystic
To understand why people are still searching for Cile Steward, you have to look back at the sheer violence of that July weekend. Camp Mystic, a storied Christian all-girls summer camp in Kerr County, was filled with over 750 campers and counselors. It was supposed to be a place of tradition and "adventure." Cile was a first-time camper there, following in the footsteps of three generations of her family.
Then the Guadalupe River turned into something unrecognizable.
Flash flooding in the Hill Country isn't just "a lot of rain." It's a wall of water. On that holiday weekend, the river rose with such speed that entire cabins were essentially wiped off the map. When the mud settled, the toll was staggering: 27 campers and counselors had perished. Most were eventually found, including three other young girls from Austin—Linnie McCown, Abby Pohl, and Mary Stevens. But Cile was the exception. She was swept into the chaos and, despite months of grueling search efforts, the river has not given her back.
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The Search Efforts: Why hasn't she been found?
You might wonder how a person can just stay missing for over six months in a modern age of drones and K-9 units. Honestly, it comes down to the terrain and the sheer volume of debris.
After the flood, the search wasn't just about looking through grass. It was about digging through miles of tangled cedar, massive "strainers" (piles of trees and trash lodged in the river), and deep deposits of silt.
- K-9 Pearl: A specialized search and rescue dog from the Knoxville Police Department was brought in with her handler, Candy Stooksberry. They spent over a week navigating the wreckage.
- Cadaver Dogs: Teams from Montgomery County and other units used dogs trained to detect human remains even under several feet of mud or underwater.
- Volunteer Teams: Local groups and specialized recovery teams like the Marble Falls Area VFD (who also lost their Chief, Michael Phillips, in the same flood) have combed the banks of the Guadalupe.
The reality of these searches is grim. As Stooksberry noted during the peak of the efforts, at a certain point, crews aren't looking for a "person" anymore; they are searching for fragments or bone. The Guadalupe River is notoriously rocky and deep in sections, and the force of the 2025 flood moved boulders the size of cars. It is entirely possible that remains are pinned beneath debris that would require heavy machinery to move—machinery that often can't reach the most rugged parts of the riverbank.
Is Cile Steward still missing? The 2026 Update
Recently, the conversation around Cile Steward has shifted from the physical search to a battle over accountability and safety. In late 2025 and early 2026, Camp Mystic announced plans to reopen certain parts of its campus, specifically Cypress Lake. This didn't sit well with everyone.
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The Steward family actually penned a letter to the camp expressing their anger and pain over the reopening plans while their daughter was still out there. For them, the site isn't just a camp anymore; it’s a crime scene and a graveyard.
Legislative Action: SB 1 and Camp Safety
While the physical search has scaled back from the massive mobilization seen in July 2025, the legal search for answers is heating up. Cile’s parents, CiCi and Will Steward, have become the faces of a movement to change how summer camps in Texas are regulated.
They testified before a Texas Senate committee in support of SB 1, a bill designed to bolster camp safety and emergency protocols. Their argument is straightforward: Cile’s disappearance wasn't just an "act of God." They believe it was the result of preventable failures in evacuation and emergency preparation.
"Our daughter was stolen from us," CiCi Steward testified. "Cile’s life ended not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures."
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What happens now?
For those following the case, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding the ongoing efforts to find Cile:
- Assessments Continue: While some parts of Camp Mystic are reopening, the original campus along the river—where the most destruction occurred—remains closed as safety assessments continue.
- The "End of Watch": Just as the Marble Falls community had to eventually declare an "end of watch" for Chief Michael Phillips (who is also still missing), the Steward family is navigating the impossible line between hoping for a miracle and seeking the closure of a recovery.
- Low Water Levels: Often in these cases, the best "search" happens months or even years later when the river levels drop significantly during a drought, revealing what was previously hidden.
How you can help or stay informed
If you live in the Kerrville or Hunt area, or frequently recreate along the Guadalupe River, local authorities still urge people to be vigilant. If you find anything unusual—clothing, gear, or remains—do not touch them. Mark the location and call the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office immediately.
For those watching from afar, the best way to support the legacy of the victims is to stay informed on the progress of camp safety legislation in Texas. The goal of the Steward family and other Camp Mystic families is to ensure that no other parent has to spend 180+ days wondering where their child is.
Cile Steward is still missing, but she is certainly not forgotten.
Next steps for those following the case:
- Monitor the progress of Texas SB 1 through the Texas Legislature Online portal to see how safety requirements are being updated.
- Support local search and rescue organizations in the Hill Country, such as the TEXSAR (Texas Search and Rescue) teams, who often lead these volunteer recovery efforts.
- Check official updates from the Kerr County Sheriff's Office for any news regarding recovery operations along the Guadalupe River.