The Texas Board of Nursing alleges Mary Liz Eastland, the Chief Health Officer, evacuated herself and her children from the camp and never called emergency services.
HOUSTON — The Texas Board of Nursing has temporarily suspended the nursing license of the chief health officer at Camp Mystic, the Central Texas summer camp where 27 people died in a July 4th flood last year, over allegations that she failed to protect campers and staff and evacuated herself while leaving others behind.
According to the complaint, Mary Elizabeth Eastland failed to develop adequate emergency plans and protocols for campers, staff, and nurses at the camp. The board also alleges that when floodwaters began rising, Eastland abandoned the campers and staff in her care, instead evacuating herself and her own children.
The deadly flash floods struck the camp on July 4th of last year, killing 27 people.
Camp Mystic has announced it will not reopen this summer.
KHOU 11 reached out to Camp Mystic but did not immediately hear back.
The charges allege that before the flood, Eastland failed to develop adequate emergency plans despite the camp’s history of flooding.
When floodwaters rose around 2 a.m. on July 4, 2025, she allegedly evacuated herself and her children to higher ground without providing any assistance or direction to campers or staff, never called her nursing team, and never contacted emergency services, even after learning people were missing.
After the flood, she allegedly waited nearly nine months to report the deaths, despite a state law requiring reporting within 24 hours.
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