A Texas judge on Wednesday declined to fully close Camp Mystic, the all-girls youth camp where 25 girls and two counselors were killed in catastrophic flooding last year, but barred construction on the part of the campus where the deadly flooding occurred.

The ruling came after the family of 8-year-old Cile Steward, who was swept away in the flood and whose body has not been recovered, asked Travis County Judge to prevent the camp's owners from reopening the facility and halt any construction while their lawsuit is pending. The family's attorneys argued that changes at the camp could destroy evidence needed for their case.

The campers and counselors were killed when fast-rising floodwaters swept through a low-lying area of the summer camp before dawn on July 4, 2025. The river rose from 14 feet to 29.5 feet within 60 minutes during flooding that killed at least 136 people across the region. The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate before being overwhelmed by the waters.

In Wednesday's packed courtroom, family members of the deceased girls wore buttons depicting their images while lawyers for Camp Mystic displayed pictures of memorial trees and architectural plans to rebuild parts of the camp outside a 1,000-year flood zone. Edward Eastland, son of camp owner Richard Eastland who died in the flooding, testified that his family had to break out a window to escape rising waters at a camp house.

Attorneys for Camp Mystic expressed sympathy for the families but maintained there was little they could have done during the unprecedented flooding. "The worst thing you can do is put a bunch of 8-year-olds on a bus and try to drive them out of there. They all would have drowned," said Mikal Watts, an attorney for the camp.

The camp's decision last year to partially reopen and construct a memorial drew criticism from victims' families who said they weren't consulted. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has asked Texas regulators not to renew the camp's license while investigations continue, and families of several victims have filed lawsuits against the camp's operators.