Camp Mystic's executive director began evacuating campers approximately 45 minutes after the National Weather Service issued a "life-threatening flash flooding" alert.

The National Weather Service issued an urgent flood warning at 1:14 a.m. July 4th. Camp personnel did not start moving girls to safety for at least 46 minutes.

Catherine Wendlandt, a freelance writer in Texas who has written stories for Chron, attended Camp Mystic as a camper from 2004 to '13, then served as a counselor from 2014 to '16. Wendlandt shared this tribute to camp counselors,