Dallas family files the 2nd lawsuit against Camp Mystic after Central Texas flood killed 27

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas – The parents of 8-year-old Eloise “Lulu” Peck filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Camp Mystic, its owners, and affiliated entities, alleging gross negligence and indifference that led to their daughter’s death during the July 4 flash flood that killed 27 campers and counselors along the Guadalupe River.

What we know:

Filed in Travis County District Court, the lawsuit accuses Camp Mystic of knowingly operating in a high-risk flood zone without proper safety measures, evacuation plans, or staff training. 

The Peck family’s case follows a similar lawsuit filed earlier by families of seven other victims, with more expected in the coming weeks. Both cases have been filed at Travis County District Court.

Allegations of Negligence and Gross Indifference

According to the petition, Camp Mystic’s owners and directors, members of the Eastland family, had decades of prior knowledge about flooding on the property but “played Russian roulette with the lives of little girls” by continuing to house children in cabins along the riverbank.

The filing cites a long history of flood events dating back to 1932 and alleges that the camp sought to remove floodplain designations from FEMA maps to lower insurance costs rather than relocate structures to safer ground.

What they’re saying:

Attorneys for the Peck family say the tragedy was foreseeable and preventable.

“This was not an unforeseeable act of nature,” attorney Randy Howry of Howry Breen & Herman LLP said in a statement. “What happened at Camp Mystic was preventable, and no parent should ever endure the pain of sending their child to a place of safety only to face tragedy.”

The lawsuit claims that on the night of July 3 and early morning of July 4, the camp received repeated flood warnings from the National Weather Service, including a flash flood alert at 1:14 a.m., but failed to evacuate. The camp allegedly instructed counselors and campers to “stay in their cabins”, even as water entered buildings and power failed.

“Camp Mystic had no plan, no training, and no urgency,” the petition reads. “The result was chaos, darkness, and unimaginable fear for children left alone as floodwaters tore through their cabins.”

The Peck Family’s Claims

Dig deeper:

The 31-page petition was filed by Timothy and Melissa Peck of Dallas County, individually and on behalf of their daughter’s estate. 

Eloise “Lulu” Peck was housed in the Bubble Inn cabin, one of the structures identified in FEMA maps as sitting inside the floodway of the Guadalupe River.

FEMA flood map of Camp Mystic structures

The lawsuit includes multiple causes of action, including:

• Negligence for failing to assess flood risks, build safely, or evacuate campers
• Gross Negligence for showing “conscious indifference” to the safety of children
• Premises Liability for maintaining dangerous cabins in a known floodplain
• Joint Enterprise and Ratification for alleging all camp entities shared control and profits
• Vicarious Liability for holding the camp accountable for its employees’ actions

The Pecks are seeking more than $1 million in damages, including wrongful death and survival claims, funeral costs, and exemplary damages meant to deter future misconduct.

“Today is a difficult but necessary step for our family,” said Tim Peck, Lulu’s father. “We’ve chosen to pursue legal action not out of anger, but out of love for our child, and for the truth and justice she deserves.”

Decades of Warnings

Big picture view:

The petition describes Camp Mystic as a “for-profit family business” that ignored generations of flood warnings. It notes that former camp director Richard “Dick” Eastland previously served on the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which oversees river management in the region. Despite this expertise, the camp allegedly continued to operate without modern flood detection equipment, adequate escape routes, or emergency training.

Nearby Mo-Ranch, another camp along the river, is cited as a contrast for having successfully evacuated 70 people during the same storm before the flood reached its grounds.

The filing also references Lulu’s own drawings, which depicted her fear of storms and darkness in the weeks before her death, an image that the lawsuit calls “a heartbreaking echo of what was to come.”

Excerpt from Lulu’s Journal on May 2025

Second Lawsuit in Ongoing Litigation

By the numbers:

This lawsuit follows the Nov. 10 filing by Yetter Coleman LLP on behalf of seven other victims’ families, including those of campers Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, and counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo. 

Both petitions allege a pattern of neglect, poor safety planning, and delayed evacuations that cost lives.

Attorneys for the Pecks said more filings are expected as additional families seek accountability.

Camp Mystic response

The other side:

As of Monday, Camp Mystic issued the following statement: 

“We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God’s healing and comfort.”

Jeff Ray is the legal counsel for Camp Mystic and issued the following statement:

“We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and all families in the Hill Country who lost loved ones in the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4. We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course.”

About Camp Mystic

The backstory:

Camp Mystic, founded in 1926 near Hunt, Texas, sits along the South Fork of the Guadalupe River, an area long known as “Flash Flood Alley.” 

The camp is owned and operated by the Eastland family, which has managed it for three generations. The July 4 flood killed 25 campers and two counselors, prompting state and local reviews of youth camp safety protocols in the Hill Country.