The Texas floods left devastation and heartache in their wake.
And among those most closely affected by the tragedy are the parents of campers at Camp Mystic, where the death toll among the campers and counselors stands at 27. Two months later, the parents of seven of the campers who lost their lives—Hadley Hanna, Cile Steward, Mary Barrett Stevens, Molly Dewitt, Virginia Hollis, Lila Bonner and Abby Pohl—are sharing how they’ve navigated their grief amid the hardest of circumstances.
As Lila’s mother Caitlin Bonner told Today’s Jenna Bush Hager when, “We talk about this being your worst nightmare. This was not a nightmare I had.”
And for Cile’s parents Will Steward and Cici Steward—the latter of whose 12 summers at Camp Mystic as a camper and a counselor inspired their daughter to go—their nightmare is unique: Cile is still missing.
“Every phone call, every text, your heart stops” Will said, “because you hope it’s news that they’ve found your child.”
For now, they remember their daughter as a “natural leader,” Will adding, “She cared more about other people’s feelings than her own.”
The grieving parents each spoke to who their child had been. Hadley’s parents praised her as spirited and loving; Lila’s as the heartbeat of her family; Abby was remembered as someone who loved to make everyone laugh; Mary Barett was her family’s first daughter; Virginia’s parents recalled a girl who couldn’t resist playing the piano; Molly as someone who gave all of herself all of the time.
But as they mourn and heal, the parents are also taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again. They’ve begun advocating for a Texas bill called the “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” which would implement new safety requirements for youth camps and campgrounds across the state.
“It became very, very clear that this wasn’t an accident,” Lila’s dad Blake Bonner said. “This was complacency and it is 100 percent preventable.”
Molly’s father, Ryan DeWitt, added, “What’s being laid out in this bill should be the bare minimum for what these camps should be looking to implement.”
For many of the grieving parents, they see the legislation as a way to honor their children’s legacies. “We would’ve been doing a massive disservice to our daughters,” Mary Barrett’s father Johnny Stevens, said, “for not running with this and seeing this through.”
Camp Mystic, for its part, has previously shared a statement supporting legislative measures.
For now, the grieving parents are leaning on each other.
“I feel like we’ve all gotten so close,” Abby’s mother Kristin Pohl said. “I guess a bright light in the midst of all the grief and darkness.”
Ryan added of himself and wife Elizabeth DeWitt, “We sometimes say, ‘Man, I hope we never forget about what Molly was like’ and the Heaven’s 27 family is a way for us to never, ever let the world forget these girls.”
For tributes shared after the devastating floods, keep reading.
Jenna Bush Hager
TheJenna & Friends host shared that her mom, former First Lady Laura Bush, was a drama counselor at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 girls and counselors died, as of July 7, following the devastating flooding on the Guadalupe River.
“My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp,” Jenna said on Today, July 7. “Texas camps are institutions, as you just heard, where many family members—generations—this camp was 100 years old. Grandmothers, mothers, kids have all gone there.”
Jenna, who shared that many of her friends and their kids were there last week, praised the community for coming together amid the tragedy.
“The stories that I heard over the last couple days were beautiful and heartbreaking,” she said. “Texas has a type of resilience where they’re generous people, where people want to reach out and help.”
“Texas camps are really special because you’re thinking about 90-degree weather, no air conditioning,” the 43-year-old—who attended the nearby Camp Longhorn during her childhood—explained. “My kids are at camp in Texas, and my husband said, ‘Why are we sending our kids to Texas, to camp? It’s hot!’ And it’s because of the love that’s there.”
Jennifer Garner
The 13 Going on 30 star—who was born in Houston—expressed her condolences in a July 6 Instagram Stories, writing with a red heart emoji, “Texas, God, be near.”
Matthew McConaughey and Camila McConaughey
The Interstellar actor and his wife called on others to “lend a helping hand” amid this difficult chapter.
“At least 70 lives have been lost, many more are unaccounted for, and countless Texans are hurting – inside and out,” their joint July 6 Instagram statement read. “It’s gonna be a long road ahead, but right now the shock, the pain, and the chaos need the steady hand of a neighbor.”
The University of Texas at Austin professor and the model concluded, “Texans are some of the most resilient and generous people on the planet.”
Hilary Duff
The Lizzie McGuire alum shared her grief amid the tragic flooding, writing on Instagram on July 6 that “heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover” her feelings.
“Consumed,” she explained, “Obsessed. Praying for even a shred of a miracle—to find a child alive in the wake of this boundless disaster. Tears fall every time I imagine one of these families receiving bad news… waiting… or entire families lost. Just gone. It’s too much to comprehend.”
“Beautiful Texas, I love you,” she continued. “To all the boots on the ground—I love you. To those facing tremendous, impossible loss—we are looking at their beautiful faces, embossing them in our minds.”
Hilary, who also attended nearby Camp Longhorn growing up, emphasized how the experience at camp “imprints on your soul.”
“I was—and forever will be—that girl with a wild-hearted, fierce love for my barefoot summers at camp in the Texas Hill country,” she wrote. “It changes your identity. It’s a realm of true magic. You could never imagine an ending this tragic. I’m just so deeply, absolutely sorry. Your loss is felt across the world.”
Shakira
The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer shared on X (formerly Twitter) on July 5 that she would be donating a portion of the proceeds from her San Antonio concert to Catholic Charities of San Antonio, which is providing disaster relief to families impacted.
Khloe Kardashian
The Kardashians star expressed her sympathy to those affected by the flash flood, noting that her heart “is so deeply aching for every parent, every family member, and every community.”
“I can’t stop thinking about the families in Texas and the overwhelming pain they’re going through right now,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories on July 6. “As a mother, this kind of tragedy hits in a place words can’t reach. The loss of those sweet, innocent children is something I can’t fully process. There are just no words for this.”
Kris Jenner
The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch shared that she was struggling to come to terms with the destructive aftermath of the natural disaster.
“My heart is absolutely shattered by the devastating floods in Texas and the unimaginable loss of those precious children,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. “It’s a tragedy that’s impossible to comprehend and heartbreaking beyond measure.”
“Life is so fragile, and at times unbearably unfair,” she continued. “To the families living this nightmare, we are holding you in our hearts, praying for strength, and grieving alongside you.”
Christy Carlson Romano
The Even Stevens alum revealed that she and her husband, Brendan Rooney, considered sending their 7-year-old daughter, Isabella, to Camp Mystic.
She added in her July 6 Instagram Stories, “A lot of people I know send their kids there and a few of them don’t know where their kids are or they were just recently reunited with them.”
Mandy Moore
The This Is Us actress shared a video of the missing girls from Camp Mystic on her Instagram Stories July 6, writing, “Thinking of everyone affected by the horrific flooding in Texas..keeping these families in my heart. Unfathomable.
Maria Shriver
The journalist shared that her prayers are with the families in Texas, emphasizing on Instagram July 6, “Right now they need us all to hold them in a circle of love.”
“Let’s unite to hold them, pray for them,” she said of the Camp Mystic attendees and counselors. “As a parent myself, my heart is with absolutely everyone who is feeling this loss.”
