As the search continues for the dozens of people still missing in central Texas after devastating floods pounded the region, the director of Camp Mystic is being hailed as a hero for giving his life as he attempted to save others.
As of Monday morning, 81 people are dead and 41 are still unaccounted for statewide after heavy rain lashed Texas, unleashing one of the deadliest floods in the United States in the past 100 years.
Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
The greatest number of fatalities occurred in Kerr County, where 68 people are believed to have died, including 28 children, officials report.
As CBN News reported, 10 girls and a counselor remained missing as of Sunday from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a Christian summer camp for girls along the Guadalupe River.
Richard “Dick” Eastland, the camp director and co-owner, is being remembered as a hero after reportedly rushing to save as many campers as he could before his death.
/**/His grandson, George, confirmed Eastland’s passing in a social media post, which has since been taken down, sharing he died trying to save the campers “he so loved and cared for.”
The private Christian summer camp was hosting nearly 750 campers when floodwaters suddenly ravaged the campsite in the early morning hours.
The 99-year-old Camp Mystic has a rich history with camp attendees including political elites such as the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The facility was built in 1926, but Eastland and his wife, Tweety, bought the property in 1974 becoming the third generation of the family to operate the all-girls Christian camp.
On the morning of July 4, Eastland reportedly worked to evacuate young girls who were trapped in cabins inundated by rapidly rising flood waters.
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
The 70-year-old and five campers were swept away by rushing waters, but were later found alive a few miles down the river. Eastland died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told the Washington Post.
Former campers, counselors, and even politicians who knew Eastland honored him for his last heroic act.
To read the full story, visit our content partners at CBN News.
Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2025 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
