{"id":34994,"date":"2025-08-21T17:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=34994"},"modified":"2025-08-21T17:50:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:50:02","slug":"moms-8-year-old-remains-missing-weeks-after-camp-mystic-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=34994","title":{"rendered":"Mom&#8217;s 8-Year-Old Remains Missing Weeks After Camp Mystic Floods"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article__primary-video-container_1-0\" class=\"comp article__primary-video-container mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content_1-0\" class=\"comp article-content mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-embed mntl-sc-block-universal-embed mntl-sc-block-embed--youtube\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_3-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li>Families of flood victims killed at Camp Mystic testified at a Texas senate hearing for a new bill aimed at improving safety and preparedness at camps in the state following the July flood disaster<\/li>\n<li>Parents of the girls killed in the flood pleaded with lawmakers to enact the new regulations to ensure the safety and protection of kids at camps moving forward<\/li>\n<li>\u201cObvious common sense safety measures were absent, protocols that should have been in place were ignored,\u201d said Cici Williams Steward, mother of missing 8-year-old daughter Cile Steward<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Families of the victims killed at Camp Mystic during the <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/texas-flooding-death-toll-hits-132-as-survivors-and-victim-families-share-raw-stories-exclusive-11772230\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Texas flood disaster<\/a> spoke out at a hearing for a bill to improve safety at youth camps.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The families are urging Texas lawmakers to pass <a href=\"https:\/\/capitol.texas.gov\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=892&amp;Bill=SB1\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Senate Bill 1<\/a>, which would help improve preparedness and accountability surrounding disaster procedures at youth camps in the state, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcdfw.com\/news\/local\/texas-news\/camp-mystic-flood-victims-parents-testify-texas-capitol\/3907090\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">NBC affiliate KXAS-TV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/08\/20\/texas-legislature-summer-camp-safety-mystic\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\"><em>The Texas Tribune<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">At a meeting of the Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding on Wednesday, Aug. 20, families who were impacted by the flood spoke in favor of the bill, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/texas\/news\/camp-mystic-parents-central-texas-flooding-safety-bill-austin-hearing\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">CBS News<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_10-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-featuredlink--people-app-promo mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__left_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__left mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__text_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__text mntl-text-block\"><b>Our new app is here!<\/b> Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_12-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Cici Williams Steward&#8217;s 8-year-old daughter Cile Steward still has not been found, according to the <em>Tribune<\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kvue.com\/article\/news\/state\/texas-news\/texas-flood\/camp-mystics-texas-capitol-family-testimony\/269-7d982ec5-d186-4b25-9001-41c43df16171\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">ABC affiliate KVUE<\/a>. The mom said she had assured her child \u201cthat her safety and the safety of all the young girls was paramount\u201d before sending her off to Camp Mystic in Hunt, where 27 campers and counselors died in the flood.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cObvious common sense safety measures were absent, protocols that should have been in place were ignored,\u201d Cici testified. \u201cAs a result, my daughter was stolen from me, not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures on just her fifth day of camp.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 66.6%;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Carrie Hanna, whose daughter Hadley Hanna ded in the flood, also said she promised her daughter that she \u201cwould be safe and okay\u201d at the camp.<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u201cI told her camp was the safest place she could be,\u201d Carrie recalled, per KVUE. \u201cI lied to her. She not only wasn\u2019t safe, she died.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The parents of <\/span><a style=\"background-color: white; font-size: 1rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/mystic-camp-camper-lila-bonner-found-dead-following-texas-floods-11767067\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Lila Bonner<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"> and Janie Hunt also testified on Wednesday. Blake Bonner, Lila\u2019s father, said the families\u2019 daughters \u201cpaid the ultimate price for their obedience to a plan that was destined to fail.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Camp Mystic flood victim families testify before senate committee (FULL VIDEO)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3rHJ-DBshB4\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_23-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc__card-list_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc__card-list mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">8-Year-Old&#8217;s Mom Receives Letter from Her After She Died in Camp Mystic Flooding: &#8216;I&#8217;m Just So Grateful&#8217; (Exclusive)<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_2-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">Camp Mystic Owner Who Died Saving Campers Previously Pushed for Flood Warning Systems<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_25-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cI naively assumed she was safer at camp than anywhere else,\u201d Blake said, according to KXAS-TV. \u201cWhen I think about the trauma and fear our girls endured, it makes me physically ill. This loss is one no parent should have to endure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_27-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cLila was special. She was beautiful. She was pure. She was so kind,\u201d Lila\u2019s mother Caitlin Bonner said at the hearing, calling her daughter \u201cthe most gentle little girl who fiercely loved her sister and all of her friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_29-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Janie\u2019s mother Ann Lindsey Hunt said, \u201cJanie was the heartbeat of our family. She left for camp full of excitement and joy. She came home in a plywood box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Under Senate Bill 1, youth camp cabins would not be allowed to be located in floodplains, and camps could lose their license to operate if they don\u2019t comply, according to KVUE.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">All camps would also reportedly be required to have an emergency plan for natural disasters, which camp leaders would have to submit to local emergency management coordinators and the State Health Department.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.dotdashmeredith.com\/people-news-inline\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">These plans would be required to have procedures for identifying and finding campers during an emergency, and camps would have to hold safety orientations at the beginning of each session.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_40-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cHad the requirements of SB 1 been in place on the night of July 4, I have no doubt that some lives, if not all lives, would have been saved,\u201d said Senator Charles Perry of Lubbock, who chairs the Senate Select Committee, according to the <em>Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Before the deadly flooding disaster, the owner of Camp Mystic \u2014 who died trying to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/texas-floods-summer-camp-owner-dick-eastland-tried-to-save-girls-11767122\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">save the lives of his campers<\/a> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/camp-mystic-owner-died-saving-campers-pushed-flood-warning-systems-11770638\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">pushed for flood warning systems<\/a> for the Guadalupe River, which is located close to the camp grounds.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_44-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In 2011, the camp was included in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) \u201cSpecial Flood Hazard Area\u201d for its National Flood Insurance map for Kerr County. But just two years later, FEMA amended the map and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/camp-mystic-buildings-were-removed-from-flood-zone-after-appeal-to-fema-11771687\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">removed 15 buildings<\/a> owned by Camp Mystic camp from the hazard area after an appeal from the camp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Families of flood victims killed at Camp Mystic testified at a Texas senate hearing for a new bill aimed at improving safety and preparedness at camps in the state following &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34996,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34994\/revisions\/34996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}