Camp Mystic deadly flood probe: Eastland family calls search warrants a 'fishing expedition'
Camp Mystic owners try to halt state search warrants
The family that owns Camp Mystic is trying to limit what state investigators are able to view in their investigation into the deadly floods that left 25 children and two counselors dead. FOX 4's Amelia Jones has more.
DALLAS - The Texas Rangers are investigating possible criminal conduct related to Camp Mystic’s preparation and response to the deadly July 4 flooding in 2025.
As part of the investigation, a ranger filed search warrants for 14 people total. Seven of them were for members of the Eastland family, who own and operate Camp Mystic.
What we know:
The warrants requested phone data during the timeframe of July 3 through Oct. 17, 2025. This includes everything from text messages, photos, deleted materials, browsing history, and more.
Eastland family responds
What they're saying:
In a new court filing, the Eastland family’s attorney says the warrant is a "fishing expedition," and suggests investigators should narrow the search.
Texas Rangers execute search warrants in Camp Mystic deadly flood probe
In a significant development in the investigation into the deadly flooding at Camp Mystic, FOX 4 has learned a judge signed search warrants as part of a criminal investigation into the camp and its leaders.
Dig deeper:
The motion goes on to say that it could reveal privileged legal material between attorney and client.
"And the lawyer in this case is being pretty reasonable in saying, ‘Hey, we need to see some outlines. We need to see some parameters’," said Jeremy Rosenthal, a defense attorney not involved in the case.
Potential outcomes of court motion
Rosenthal says there are a couple outcomes that could come from this motion, including that the Texas Rangers take the search warrant back and issue a more specific one.
"It could be that the judge appoints somebody as an intermediary between the Texas Rangers and and the court to review it to make sure that there's no attorney-client privilege things," Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal called the other recent legal filings in the case more logistical in nature.
District attorney seeks to recuse herself
The Kerr County district attorney asked to recuse herself and her entire office because of a conflict of interest. Among the reasons were having formerly worked with a member of the Eastland family and having close friends who are also friends with the Eastlands.
The district attorney asked to appoint a temporary prosecutor.
What's next:
Due to this matter, and the recent motion, the State filed to reset the hearing over the digital evidence for Oct. 12.
"So that just gives everybody some time and breathing room, and gets everybody potentially in the same room to make some kind of a deal to get something that does work," Rosenthal said.
The court documents reveal the Texas Rangers were already working with a team and procedure to protect attorney-client privileged material before the motion was filed.
The State agreed to not review media obtained from the search warrant until further order of the court.
The court documents say the Eastland family’s attorney did not oppose postponing the hearing, provided those restrictions were followed.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by Fox 4's Amelia Jones.