US  | 

Jenna Bush Hager Remembers Camp Mystic

'So many of my friends were raised' there, she says of Texas site devastated by flash flood
Posted Jul 7, 2025 10:24 AM CDT
Jenna Bush Hager Remembers Camp Mystic
Rescue workers are seen on land and on a boat as they search for missing people near Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas.   (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Jenna Bush Hager has a special connection to Camp Mystic, the 100-year-old Texas summer camp devastated by catastrophic flooding, and not just because her mother, former first lady Laura Bush, was once a drama counselor there. As an emotional Bush Hager said Monday on the Today show, "so many of my friends were raised at this camp." Texas' "political elite" are among those who send their daughters "to swim, canoe, ride horses and form lifelong friendships" at the camp each summer, per the BBC. Bush Hager said her own friends' kids had been staying at the all-girls Christian summer camp on the Guadalupe River as recently as last week. She noted "Texas camps are institutions" and her own children attend camps in the state "because of the love that's there."

Camp Mystic confirmed Monday that at least 27 campers and counselors died as the river rose 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday, per the BBC. Others remain missing—11 campers and one counselor as of Sunday morning. "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," reads a statement on the camp's website, adding that it's working with local and state authorities "to search for our missing girls." The camp's longtime director, Dick Eastland, died while attempting to move campers to safety, according to a social media post from his grandson. "He looked out for his campers. He raised girls to be brave and loving, and his legacy will live on," said Bush Hager. (The director of another camp also died.)

Read These Next
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X