Parents File Wrongful-Death Suit After 8-Year-Old Cile Steward Went Missing In Deadly July Flood At Camp Mystic

The parents of eight-year-old Cecilia (Cile) Steward have filed a wrongful-death and negligence lawsuit against Camp Mystic after their daughter went missing following catastrophic flash flooding on July 4, 2025. The suit, filed in Travis County, alleges the camp failed to protect campers despite receiving flood warnings.

What the Complaint Alleges

According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Cile’s parents, Will and CiCi Steward, dropped her off at Camp Mystic on June 29 for a month-long session at the Texas all-girls sleepaway camp. The filing states the camp received a flash-flood warning at about 1:14 a.m. while many children were asleep, but camp co-owner Richard Eastland, who later died in the storm, allegedly prioritized moving canoes rather than ordering an immediate evacuation.

The suit says the Eastland family did not begin evacuating cabins nearest the Guadalupe River until roughly 3:00 a.m., by which time conditions were “chaotic.” The Stewards contend the camp lacked reliable communications: no dependable cell service, no walkie-talkies in every cabin and no functioning speakers or sirens. Instead, campers and counselors purportedly relied on verbal directions from camp leadership.

Cile StewardDistrict Clerk Travis County

"Cile did exactly what she had been ordered to do," the complaint reads. "She stayed in her cabin. She waited for instructions from 'the office' or her counselors. With each passing minute, her escape routes narrowed."

Sequence Of Events Described

The filing recounts that Cile and two other campers initially escaped their cabin on an inflatable mattress, and that Cile later fell off. Her parents say they believe she swam to a tree where several survivors eventually gathered, but a strong current swept her away and she remains missing more than six months after the storm.

The Stewards argue the deaths at Camp Mystic were avoidable and note that other camps on the Guadalupe River received the same warnings and evacuated; according to the complaint, Camp Mystic was the only camp on the river where children died.

Camp Mystic's Response

Camp Mystic's attorney, Mikal Watts, released a statement saying the camp disagrees with "the misinformation in the legal filings" and empathizes with families who lost loved ones. The statement added the camp intends to show the flood surge "far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes," was unexpected and unforeseeable, and that no adequate early-warning flood systems existed in the area. Watts said the camp will "thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course."

One of Cile Steward's few possessions that survived the Camp Mystic flooding, according to a lawsuit filed by her parentsDistrict Clerk Travis County

Legal And Public Fallout

The Stewards are seeking damages in excess of $1 million. Their filing follows a November lawsuit by families of five campers and two counselors who alleged camp owners prioritized profits over safety. The couple appeared on The Today Show to discuss their suit and called the site an alleged "active crime scene." No criminal charges have been filed related to the tragedy, and Camp Mystic is currently slated to reopen this summer.

In a news release, the Stewards thanked Texas officials and emergency responders for their efforts to find their daughter, saying that while a lawsuit will not bring Cile back, they feel compelled to expose what they describe as Camp Mystic's failures. They also publicly praised the counselors who tried to save children that night.

Death Toll: More than 130 people died in central Texas as a result of the July 4 flooding.