Camp Mystic hearing Day 3: Judge moves trial date and evidence deadline

AUSTIN, Texas - Emotions are still raw for the dozens of families who lost their children to the flood disaster last summer at Camp Mystic.

Now, the future of the camp's operations remains uncertain after a three-day hearing for an appeal on an injunction that prevented Camp Mystic from making renovations to its Guadalupe campus.

New evidence deadlines set in Camp Mystic case

What we know:

The three-day hearing wrapped up, as the judge approved a new motion.

Judge Maya Gamble agreed to exclude one of the cabins initially on the list that the plaintiffs did not want to be touched by camp leadership. The new order also moves up the timeline for the plaintiffs to preserve whatever evidence they need from the scene, in order to prepare for trial.

The parents of 8-year-old Cile Steward filed a lawsuit to make sure Camp Mystic doesn't reopen this summer. Steward is the only girl of the 27 who died in the July 4th flood at the camp, who still hasn’t been found.

Witnesses recall "inland tsunami" during tragic July 4th flood

Local perspective:

On Wednesday, Britt Eastland, one of the camp's directors, finished his testimony. His wife, Catie Eastland, followed. 

"I've lived at the camp a good while now, and we've seen some floods. This wasn't a flood. This was an inland tsunami," she said.

She described what she told her sister-in-law after they fed and clothed the girls. 

"As we drove through Hunt we made eye contact, and I said, 'Our entire community is gone,'" she said.

She was asked in questioning, "Do you believe that you abandoned Cile?"

"No ma'am, I had no access to Cile," she said. 

Glenn Juenke, the night watchman at Camp Mystic, described moving one group of girls to a different location.

"I was terrified that I was going to lose one of those kids. I felt like if one of them got out, we all would go. It was that bad," he said. "I was in shock, and I was freezing, and the girls were freezing. I told Catie, she said, 'What happened over here?' and I said, 'Y'all could've had a million different evacuation plans, none of them would've worked.'"

The Stewards' attorney, Brad Beckworth, says there was no evacuation plan, and communication would've helped save the girls.

"You can blame it on Mother Nature or God Almighty, but the truth is, if anyone had used that speaker or a walkie-talkie and told those girls to leave prior to 3 o'clock, every single one of them would have survived, right?" he said.

"Yes, sir," Juenke replied.

There was also a disagreement with attorneys after the court hearing on Tuesday that was brought up on Wednesday. Beckworth said someone from the defense's side told him to "burn in hell." The judge said if it happened again there would be an investigation.

Families fight to preserve site for missing girl recovery

What they're saying:

The Steward family believe changes to the camp site could interfere with the search for their daughter. 

Attorneys for the plaintiffs want to be able to access the debris field for an extended period of time, but the defense argued that the request is unreasonable, and that there needs to be a specific deadline in place.

Both sides agreed that one of the cabins, Sugar Shack, could be released as it was not damaged by the flooding. The new order will reflect that and also moves up the trial date.

"I really didn't know when we might have this case ready for trial. I'm trying to find the date, so I set it far away, April 3rd, 2028. And I know we had a conversation at the time and I said we can always move it up. It's easy, it's going to be tried with me, and it's about my schedule, but I think that made me send the wrong message as to how much time we have to get that moving. So, I think I'm going to change that date as well," said Judge Gamble.

Camp Mystic trial date and status hearing schedule

Dig deeper:

The judge has set aside May 13th and 14th for a status hearing. 

Between now and then, she wants attorneys for the plaintiffs to have an expert, including reconstruction experts, visit the site at least once to assess the conditions. The hope is they'll have an idea of how much time they will need to revisit the site, take pictures, gather any evidence, etc.

With that information, the judge says she could then adjust the order, and release some of the buildings back to the camp.

What's next:

The first trial date has been set for May 3rd of next year. The camp operators want to re-open for this summer.