Fathers Find Solace in Daughters' Secret Notes After Camp Mystic Flood

One year after the July 2025 flash flood at Camp Mystic that claimed 28 lives, three fathers say the private faith expressed in their daughters' journals has been a profound source of comfort as their families grieve and pursue accountability.

On the broadcast "Saturday in America," Ryan DeWitt, Wade Lytal and Cole Naylor described finding handwritten notebooks and notes that contained Bible verses, prayers and intimate messages to God. The discoveries offered moments of consolation amid the sorrow and the ongoing legal and public scrutiny surrounding the tragedy.

Alli Naylor, whose daughter Wynne Naylor died in the July 2025 Camp Mystic flood, listens during a hearing at the Travis County Courthouse on March 4, 2026, in Austin, Texas. The hearing involved an effort to block the camp from reopening and halt construction while litigation over the deadly flood continues.

Private Notes, Public Comfort

DeWitt recalled uncovering notebooks his daughter Molly kept under her bed. Molly, who was nine when she died in the flood, had filled pages with hand-drawn crosses and scripture, including a page that read, "I can do anything through Christ." DeWitt said those pages revealed a deep, quiet faith that comforted the family.

"We knew that she was deeply rooted in her faith, but she wasn't outward about it or braggadocious about it. She just felt it. She felt very deeply," DeWitt said.

Lytal described a similar discovery in his eight-year-old daughter Kellyanne's room. Weeks after the disaster, he opened a drawer and found a journal entry that read, "Jesus I love you. Thank you for dying on the cross for all of our sins." He said finding that note felt like a gift during a very dark time and underscored his belief in the responsibility of parents to nurture their children's faith.

Debris covers the area of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, July 7, 2025, after a flash flood swept through the area.

"We saw what she wrote, and it did bring some comfort to us in a very, very dark moment in our life," Lytal said.

Faith, Family, And The Legal Aftermath

Cole Naylor, whose eight-year-old daughter Wynne also died in the flood, emphasized that daily prayer and the conviction that their daughters are alive in heaven sustain his family. He said he refuses to refer to Wynne in the past tense, holding to the promise of a future reunion.

"Our girls are very much alive," Naylor said. "They are more alive than any one of us are. Alive in heaven — we don't get to see them, we don't get to touch them, we don't get to kiss them anymore, but they're with us, and we will see them again."

The tragedy prompted investigations and litigation. A hearing related to the legal proceedings was held at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin on March 4, 2026, where Wynne's mother, Alli Naylor, was photographed listening during efforts to block the camp's reopening and halt construction.

In April, Camp Mystic announced it would not reopen for the 2026 season, reversing earlier plans to welcome campers back. In a statement the camp said it was pausing operations out of respect for grieving families, lawmakers and investigators who have raised concerns.

As the families mark the first anniversary of the flood, these fathers say the private notes and their children's faith remain central to how they remember their daughters and how they continue forward through grief, hearings and the search for answers.