Parents of missing Camp Mystic flood victim call plan to reopen next year unthinkable'

"To promote reopening less than three months after the tragedy while one camper remains missing is unthinkable, CiCi and Will Steward wrote to Camp Mystic officials in a letter released Thursday. We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussions of reopening and memorials, they wrote. Instead, Cile must be recovered, and you must fully confront and account for your role in the events and failures that caused the deaths of our daughters."

"The parents of the only girl still missing from the catastrophic July 4 flood that tore through Camp Mystic in Texas are demanding that the camp halt its plans to reopen. Officials announced this week that they plan to reopen part of the camp next year and build a memorial to the 25 campers and two teenage counselors who died. The body of 8-year-old camper Cili Steward, wasn't recovered."

"Camp Mystic's owners include the wife and other family members of Dick Eastland, who also died in the flooding. Camp officials did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The camp's account generated an automatic response that said its staff was still grieving for those who were killed. The children and counselors who died have become known as Heaven's 27."

CiCi and Will Steward demand that Camp Mystic halt plans to reopen while their 8-year-old daughter remains missing after the July 4 flash flood. Camp officials plan to reopen part of the camp next year on higher ground and to build a memorial for 25 campers and two teenage counselors who died. The Guadalupe River area where victims were swept away will remain closed. Camp Mystic's owners include relatives of Dick Eastland, who also died. Camp officials issued an automatic response saying staff were still grieving. The Steward letter calls for recovery of Cile and accountability for failures that caused the deaths.

Read at www.bostonherald.com