At the Church of St. John The Divine in River Oaks, family, friends, and former campers of Camp Mystic gathered to remember those impacted by the floods in Central Texas. As reported by Click2Houston, the floods resulted in the deaths of 27 campers and a counselor, with ten campers and one counselor still missing.
Campers who were evacuated sang together on a bus as a form of support during the situation. Lauren McGrew-Hitzhusen, a former camper and counselor, told Click2Houston, "We sing all the time — at breakfast, lunch, silly songs — it’s part of who we are," adding, "Mystic made me who I am."
According to KHOU, the incident at Camp Mystic has impacted generations of former campers, who gathered to share their grief and offer mutual support. Abigail Hilgers and Khaki Groves spoke about being with others experiencing similar loss. Hilgers said, "It feels really like nice to have people that are like going through the same stuff as you." Groves added, "Everyone is just like they're it's like, love you and like support you through these hard times."
Shawn Gallagher, who attended the camp for 12 summers, told KHOU, "Camp Mystic was, you know, our happy place. It was our safe place that we went to every summer, where we got to be girls." The ceremony concluded with participants standing together, exchanging hugs and whispered prayers.
