The Texas owners of Camp Mystic, where more than 20 girls and counsellors died in flash flooding last July, have withdrawn their application to reopen this summer.
The decision comes in the wake of mounting public pressure and a days-long court hearing in which lawmakers and victims’ family members challenged the owner’s intent to welcome campers this year.
Texas Lt.-Gov. Dan Patrick, during an interview with CBS Austin on Wednesday, urged state regulators to deny the camp’s application to reopen until active investigations were completed, arguing that state residents “deserve transparency and clear answers before the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issues a seal of approval.”
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Following the decision, Patrick wrote on X Thursday that withdrawing the application was the “correct decision” and that he was thankful that the Eastland family, which owns and operates the camp, had chosen to do so.
Camp Mystic said in a statement obtained by CNN and the New York Times on Thursday that “No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy.”
The decision was “intended to remove any doubt that Camp Mystic has heard the concerns expressed by grieving families, members of the Texas House and Senate investigating committees and citizens across our state,” it continued.
Multiple investigations at and into the camp are ongoing, including a joint police and state health agency probe. An investigation by a joint committee of the Texas legislature is also ongoing, as are multiple civil and criminal inquiries, including a wrongful death lawsuit.
Earlier this month, a Texas judge ruled that camp owners had to keep damaged buildings untouched while the wrongful death lawsuit was ongoing.
The camp was supposed to open on May 30 in a new area of the site, away from the floodplain.
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