{"id":20640,"date":"2025-07-09T09:19:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T09:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20640"},"modified":"2025-07-09T09:19:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T09:19:03","slug":"richard-dick-eastland-the-70-year-old-director-of-camp-mystic-became-a-true-hero-on-the-darkest-of-days-when-the-july-4-flood-tore-through-the-camp-like-something-out-of-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20640","title":{"rendered":"Richard \u201cDick\u201d Eastland, the 70-year-old director of Camp Mystic, became a true hero on the darkest of days. When the July 4 flood tore through the camp like something out of the Bible, Dick didn\u2019t hesitate. As water raged and chaos broke loose, he ran straight into the storm. One by one, he pulled girls to safety\u2014at least nine of them. No life jacket. No second thought. Just heart. And when the final wave came, it took him with it. But it\u2019s what the girls he saved said after that\u2019s breaking everyone\u2019s hearts."},"content":{"rendered":"

The director of Camp Mystic was killed while trying to save girls from the horrific flooding that swept through the\u00a0Texas<\/span> summer camp.<\/p>\n

Richard \u2018Dick\u2019 Eastland, 70, died while trying to\u00a0rescue campers<\/span> from the biblical rushing waters that struck the state on July 4.<\/p>\n

At least 11 girls and one counselor are\u00a0missing from Camp Mystic<\/span>\u00a0in Hunt, Texas, and five of their fellow campers have died after the rushing waters destroyed the all-girls private Christian summer camp.<\/p>\n

The death toll has risen to at least 69 people, including 21 children after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eastland\u2019s nephew, Gardner Eastland, confirmed the death in a\u00a0Facebook<\/span>\u00a0post on Saturday. The camp director\u2019s wife, Tweety, was found safe at their home, according to\u00a0Texas Public Radio.<\/p>\n

Father-of-four Eastland died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital,\u00a0Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told the\u00a0Washington Post.<\/p>\n

The Eastlands have owned and operated Camp Mystic since 1974, and many viewed him as a father figure at the camp.<\/p>\n

\u2018It doesn\u2019t surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,\u2019 The Kerrville Daily Times\u00a0guest columnist\u00a0Paige Sumner said in a tribute to Eastland.<\/p>\n

\"Beloved
Beloved director of Camp Mystic, Richard \u2018Dick\u2019 Eastland (pictured), 70, died while trying to save his campers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"At
At least 11 girls are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, and five of their fellow campers have died after the rushing waters destroyed the all-girls private Christian summer camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Eastland
Eastland (center) and his wife, Tweety, have owned and operated Camp Mystic since 1974, and many viewed him as a father figure at the camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Dick was the father figure to all of us while we were away from home at Camp Mystic for six weeks.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was the father of four amazing boys, but he had hundreds of girls each term who looked up to him like a dad. I would never have taken a fishing class if it wasn\u2019t taught by my new friend Dick.\u2019<\/p>\n

The couple has 11 grandchildren, and several of their children and their partners help manage the camp.<\/p>\n

According to the camp website, the Eastland\u2019s oldest son, Richard, manages the camp\u2019s kitchen; their youngest son, Edward, and his wife are directors of Camp Mystic Guadalupe River.<\/p>\n

The couple attended the University of Texas in Austin and reside at the camp grounds.<\/p>\n

Eastland is the third generation from his family to run the all-girls Christian summer camp since its founding in 1926.<\/p>\n

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the\u00a0floodwaters hit<\/span>, had been \u2018horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I\u2019ve seen in any natural disaster.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The height the rushing water reached to the top of the cabins was shocking,\u2019 he said on X after visiting the camp on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Eastland
Eastland (pictured) died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital, according to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"The
The camp was destroyed after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"Eastland
Eastland (right) is the third generation from his family to run the all-girls Christian summer camp since its founding in 1926<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"Windows
Windows in the cabins were shattered and the interiors were completely covered in mud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Photos show the summer camp was destroyed after the deadly floodwaters wrecked the grounds.<\/p>\n

Windows in the cabins were shattered and the interiors were completely covered in mud, with campers belongings in disarray.<\/p>\n

At least five campers were killed when the unprecedented current slammed the camp.<\/p>\n

Renee Smajstrla, eight, Janie Hunt, nine, and Alabama native Sarah Marsh, 8, all perished when the camp was washed away by the flood waters.<\/p>\n

Best friends Lila Bonner, 9, and Eloise Peck, 8, were also killed in the devastating flooding.<\/p>\n

The families of 11 other campers are desperately searching for their daughters as the death toll continues to rise.<\/p>\n

Authorities were coming under scrutiny over whether the camps and residents received proper warning about the flash floods and whether enough preparations were made.<\/p>\n

The flooding in the middle of the night caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise.<\/p>\n

The National Weather Service escalated the alert to a flash flood warning at 1am Friday, then a more serious Flash Flood Emergency by 4.30am \u2013 but by this stage water was already pouring into families\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The director of Camp Mystic was killed while trying to save girls from the horrific flooding that swept through the\u00a0Texas summer camp. Richard \u2018Dick\u2019 Eastland, 70, died… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRichard \u201cDick\u201d Eastland, the 70-year-old director of Camp Mystic, became a true hero on the darkest of days. When the July 4 flood tore through the camp like something out of the Bible, Dick didn\u2019t hesitate. As water raged and chaos broke loose, he ran straight into the storm. One by one, he pulled girls to safety\u2014at least nine of them. No life jacket. No second thought. Just heart. And when the final wave came, it took him with it. 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