Blake Bonner would give anything, even his own life, to have his daughter back. Instead, the 40-year-old father has endured a living nightmare for the past nine months after nine-year-old Lila was among the 27 people killed in catastrophic floods that struck Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, last July.
Lila was one of 24 girl campers in the doomed Bubble Inn cabin, a low-lying bunkhouse swallowed by floodwaters early on July 4, 2025, with no survivors. Two camp counselors and the camp director also died.
Now, Bonner and his wife Caitlin, 37, struggle to carry on for their younger children despite their indescribable grief. “This has been a nightmare. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone,” the Dallas-based private equity partner told the Daily Mail.
The Bonners are outraged that Camp Mystic may partially reopen its Cypress Lake location, half a mile uphill from the flood site, to a reported 850 campers at the end of next month if Texas state health officials renew its license. “I cannot fathom inviting hundreds of children to play in or around an active crime scene where 27 girls died just a year before,” Bonner said.
Ongoing Investigations and Lawsuits
Camp Mystic, owned by the family of Dick Eastland, the 70-year-old director who died trying to evacuate Bubble Inn, faces multiple investigations, including a criminal probe by the Texas Rangers into alleged negligence. State health officials and Texas lawmakers are also investigating. More than 20 families of the victims, dubbed “Heaven’s 27,” are suing the Eastlands for gross negligence.
“This tragedy is clear as day—it is complacency, the failure to act, and the failure to plan,” Bonner said. “That management team was directly responsible for those children, and they lost 27 lives. It’s unfathomable that they would be entrusted with more children.”
Admissions in Court
The disaster returned to the spotlight after a three-day hearing linked to a lawsuit by Will and CiCi Steward, parents of eight-year-old Cile, whose body remains missing. Camp bosses admitted they missed official flood warnings, lacked a detailed written evacuation plan, and that lives could have been saved had staff acted sooner. Current director Edward Eastland admitted staff failed to use the camp’s loudspeaker system to order evacuations. His wife Mary Liz Eastland, health director, admitted she did not attempt to evacuate girls in low-lying areas due to rising waters. Asked if she abandoned Cile and other girls, she replied, “Yes.”
Bonner, who closely followed the testimonies, called the admissions “heartbreaking” and “gut-wrenching.” He said the camp leaders’ accounts confirmed what families suspected: “The camp failed the youngest, most vulnerable campers, and the only girls who survived that night basically didn’t follow the stay-in-place order.”
Divided Opinions on Reopening
The question of reopening has divided families. Liberty Lindley, whose daughter Evie nearly died, wants her to return for “healing” and to honor lost friends. In an open letter, she said she trusts the Eastlands with her daughter’s life. But Katie Baker, whose daughter Mary Grace died, shared Lindley’s letter, calling the situation “truly unbelievable.”
Camp Mystic recently hosted an open house at Cypress Lake for prospective campers. One parent said, “I feel great and I think the Eastlands are wonderful.” Britt Eastland, who directs Cypress Lake, said reopening is not an easy decision but hopes it will be healing. The camp will install a new flood warning system and have a full-time therapist on site.
Legacy and Advocacy
Bonner founded the Campaign for Camp Safety with other parents to make summer camps safer nationwide. In Texas, the group secured the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act and Youth Camper Act, banning sleeping cabins in flood zones, creating a public camp registry, and requiring emergency plans. The campaign has awarded $232,000 in grants to non-profit camps. “Our girls are absolute heroes, because they will save untold numbers of lives,” Bonner said.
