Camp Mystic security guard says an early evacuation order could have saved lives

AUSTIN, Texas -- The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of 2025's deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order came early in the storm, lives could've been saved.

Glenn Juenke, who helped move some girls to a two-story building before getting trapped inside a cabin himself, also saved a group of campers when he told them to run to higher ground as flood waters rose.

He testified at the end of a three-day hearing in a legal fight between the camp operators, who want to reopen the all-girls Christian Camp this summer, and families of some of the victims who died in the July 4th flood that swept through the Guadalupe River in the predawn hours.

Juenke, called as a witness for the camp operators, said it was his decision to tell a group of campers to scramble on foot up a hillside as floodwaters rose, and was not an order from camp directors or authorities.

He did not recall camp operators ever training the campers, counselors, and staff on where to go in case an emergency evacuation was needed.

The camp's plan to reopen has angered families of the girls who were killed, and the camp's license is still under review by state health regulators. A judge last month ordered the camp to preserve damaged areas as evidence for pending lawsuits.

That ruling is under appeal. The hearing has produced the most extensive details from camp operators of what happened in the flood, including missed chances to prepare for the storm, and the delayed decisions to evacuate.

Describing the storm that came roaring through camp, Juenke said he first joined camp directors Dick and Edward Eastland in driving some of the girls away from their cabins. But Juenke later abandoned his truck when the water got too high to drive.