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The shattered mom of a young girl killed in the Camp Mystic flood horror told The Post she is appalled the Texas camp is trying to reopen this summer.
“The trauma that all of these children experienced is horrific,” said Jennifer Getten, 41, whose 9-year-old daughter, Ellen, was among 25 young campers killed at the woefully unprepared, famous local camp in July.
“For them to think they can just take on hundreds more children before we even know completely everything that happened is just unbelievable,” said the mom, whose 12-year-old daughter, Gwynne, was also at the camp but survived.
“Someone had told Gwynne at school that the camp was thinking about reopening, and she was horrified,” Getten said.
“She screamed, ‘They can’t reopen! They can’t reopen!’ ”
Getten’s comments come as Camp Mystic has been battling to reopen this summer — despite ongoing investigations into what went wrong when the Guadalupe River flooded during a Fourth of July storm and swept away cabins full of helpless young girls.
In addition to the 25 dead girls, two camp workers also perished.
It remains unclear whether the camp — which has catered to the state’s rich and famous for decades — will receive its permitting for this year.
It suffered a blow last week during a three-day injunction hearing where its leadership testified about not having adequate evacuation plans and sleeping through storm warnings.
Nevertheless, a shocking 900 girls have reportedly already registered to attend the camp this summer for what would be its 100-year anniversary season.
Getten, who attended the hearing, said her surviving daughter still has nightmares.
“It was pure hell. She doesn’t like to talk about it. She did get evacuated, and it was complete chaos,’’ the mom said.
“She walked by her sister’s cabin and wanted to grab her, and she was told no.
“She was put into a building that was almost 100 years old, and it was swaying in the rain,” the mom said. “When we got reunited with her, she got helicoptered out of there still not knowing where her sister was.
“When we finally got reunited with [Gwynne], it was probably one of the worst moments of my entire life.
“She collapsed to the ground screaming that she doesn’t want to be an only child and where is her sister.”
The agony has continued daily for the poor girl, who lives among constant reminders of what happened to her sister, their mom said.
“Their bedrooms are right across from each other, and now Ellen’s bedroom door is closed,” Getten said. “Gwynne walks by that every day.
“Ellen was her best friend,” she said. “They were always together.”
The mom said after last week’s hearing that it is not only “irresponsible” for the camp to want to reopen — it’s also downright “disturbing.
“I think it’s extremely irresponsible to open a camp with little girls when there are numerous investigations going on,” she said.
“From everything we heard the last few days, it’s extremely disturbing they want to take care of children right now without finding out what happened.
“People need to know everything that transpired before they think about it,” she said.
The stunning hearing ended with a judge upholding an injunction barring the camp from altering cabins where many of the children were swept to their deaths, while also laying bare a number of shocking admissions from the Mystic administration.
Camp Mystic’s owners — the Eastland family — admitted that campers and counselors were not notified about rising floodwaters and catastrophic storm predictions ahead of the disaster and that the camp’s evacuation plan directed campers to remain in their cabin until told otherwise.
Mary Liz Eastland even gave an outright, “Yes” when asked at one point whether she had abandoned campers who needed her help.
The families of several girls who were killed are suing the camp over the catastrophe.
The Washington Post obtained letters from several families who sent letters to Texas officials and implored them not to let Mystic reopen.
“This was entirely preventable, and the evacuation plans that were required and the emergency situation were non-existent,” said lawyer Kyle Findley, who is representing several of the victim families.
“It was a devastating tragedy. I think anyone looking to go back should look into what transpired.”
Investigations “need to get to their completion and transparency and accountability related to all actions that were taken during this event before we are talking about entrusting this camp with other children,” he added.
“I think the facts that are coming out are just the tip of the iceberg for what actually occurred and the failures that occurred on the night of the event.”
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