
A 13-year-old girl is speaking out about her harrowing experience being evacuated from Camp Mystic after deadly flash floods swept through parts of Texas on Friday, July 4.
The devastating floods have claimed the lives of 81 people across the state. In Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, authorities have recovered the bodies of 68 individuals, including 28 children, according to Sheriff Larry Leitha. Camp Mystic confirmed to NBC News that 27 of the victims were from their camp.
Stella Thompson, who had arrived at Camp Mystic just a week prior, was attending the Christian summer camp for the sixth year in a row. But what began as a familiar summer tradition quickly turned into a nightmare. Early that morning, she and the girls in her cabin were awakened by the sound of storms outside.

Thompson had been staying in a cabin situated on higher ground near Cypress Lake, while other campers had been housed closer to the Guadalupe River—the area hardest hit by the rising waters.
She recalled the cabin losing power during the night, and camp staff advised everyone to stay indoors.
When helicopters began circling overhead at dawn, it became clear that something was seriously wrong.
“I think it’s the uncertainty that really shook up our cabin,” Thompson told NBC affiliate KXAS.