Since the deadly flooding in Central Texas that killed more than 130 people, including 27 young campers at Camp Mystic, NBC 5 has been following the stories of those affected in North Texas.
“We can hope that time numbs, but it will never ever go away,” Tim Peck, who lost his daughter Eloise Peck, shared.
Two Dallas families, the Bonners and the Pecks, agreed to speak exclusively to NBC 5’s Meredith Land about how they have been united by the love and loss of their daughters and about the mission ahead. The parents of those girls have been on a campaign to advocate for change at summer camps across the state to keep all children safe.
Parents push for legislation surrounding camp safety in flood zones
“If we don’t get it passed in this special session, it will be January 2027 before another regular session is called. Which would mean it would be potentially two summers — if you don’t start until spring of 2027, you don’t get anything passed before that you can establish before that summer, so you’re looking at summer of 2028, potentially, before any of these changes are mandated. That’s not a risk I would be willing to take again as a parent,” said Caitlin Bonner, whose daughter, Lila Bonner, died in the flooding at Camp Mystic.
The Bonner and Peck families are among the 26 families tied to Heaven’s 27 Foundation. The group of parents who lost children in the flood at Camp Mystic hopes to pass legislation protecting Texas campers.
“Nothing will bring these girls back. We recognize that,” said Blake Bonner.
They said the passage of House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 would solidify Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act as law. The parents’ priorities include prevention, detection, training and response. They want structures out of flood zones, 24-hour emergency detection plans that include monitoring and notification systems and evacuation plans.
“There are very simple solutions here that revolve around simple items of prevention. Making sure people don’t sleep in flood plains, especially children, and detection. I know there’s been a lot out there in terms of early warning systems that do exist that just weren’t funded and then even detection on the premise that if you don’t have cell service and you don’t have power, if you don’t have a plan, how are you going to communicate with a number of 8 and 9 year old girls that outnumber the adults by an order of a magnitude? I mean, it’s mindboggling,” Blake Bonner said.
Both families acknowledge that new laws won’t bring their girls back, but they offer hope for other campers in the future.
“Something I think about a lot is that Lila and Eloise were best friends at school and there are third-grade girls who have to reconcile with the fact that they lost two classmates in a flood, many of them who were evacuated from neighboring camps. I don’t want them to be scared to go to camp. They should know that they can continue those memories and go back. Lila and Eloise would want that,” Caitlin Bonner said.
Nothing will bring these girls back, we recognize that … We’re trying to honor their legacy and letting this tragedy be a catalyst for change
Lila Bonner’s father, Blake Bonner
Camp Mystic shared a letter with families that said in part, “We join the families in supporting legislation that will make camps and communities along the Guadalupe River safer, especially the creation of detection and warning systems that would have saved lives on July 4.”
Texas State Rep. John McQueeney, R-Fort Worth, assured parents, “… there is a massive push to deliver. We will get this done. We are not going to put kids to sleep in a flood plain.”
Missy Peck said that the thought that camps could continue as is is hard to comprehend.
“I wouldn’t wish what we’ve gone through on my worst enemy. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, and it’s of the essence that we have to get this done to make sure that every child is safe, every child,” Missy Peck said.
Both families urged people to call their legislators when asked what the community can do to help in these efforts.
“Call your legislators. Reach out to them to support it,” Caitlin Bonner said.
Best friends experiencing innocent joy before heartbreak
Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck were best friends and first-time campers at Camp Mystic, sharing the same cabin.
“I remember the day that we got the letter that said she had been accepted and it came with a T-shirt and, I was out of town for work and she called me on Tim’s phone and was screaming with joy, screaming with joy, and then when they found out they were in the same cabin, it was all a joyous experience,” said Missy Peck.
“There’s nothing like that innocent joy that children experience,” said Tim Peck. “When she found out that she got into Camp Mystic, it was the highlight of her day, and she talked about it nonstop up until she got dropped off at camp. Nonstop. Everything was, ‘When am I going to get my trunk?’ ‘Who’s going to be in my cabin?’ ‘Who are my counselors?’ I mean, it was nonstop.”
“They were so excited to be together, which made it easier to say goodbye to them because we dropped them off caravaning together,” said Caitlin Bonner. “And both of them, you know, were annoyed that we wanted one more hug and one more kiss. And then the two of them, you know, linked arms and frolicked off and never looked back.”
Both families said the pictures and letters they got from the girls before the deadly flood showed they were so happy. They asked the girls to give them signs in their pictures that they were having fun.
“The first picture we got, they were linking arms, or hands, like this (shows a heart) and we were like… I think that means they’re having fun, I think they’re happy. And they were happy,” said Caitlin Bonner.
Signs of hope from their daughters that this is not the end
In the wake of their deaths, both mothers said they see signs of hope that give them peace that this is not the end of their story.
“We’d had a particularly emotional day and we were sitting at a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and talking and I looked up in the sky and saw what could have only been described as God, the universe and Lulu working together. There was an ‘E,’ a very clear ‘E’ in the sky, crystal blue sky,” said Missy Peck.
“I begged her for a sign and we got home and there were ladybugs all over our interior staircase inside. Not one, like 10, on the first day, and we’ve had a few that have kind of lingered,” said Caitlin Bonner. “And then on the first day of school for Scarlet and Holden, Scarlet and I walked outside to take her picture where we’ve always taken it with Lila, and I was so nervous, and she was so brave, and she goes, ‘Mom Lila’s here!’ and our whole front porch, like the awning had, like 30 maybe, ladybugs.”
The one thing that stays is love and that’s what makes our world go round and that’s what
our girls exuded.Eloise Peck’s mother Missy Peck
Both families said they hold close to their faith and hope that this tragedy can be a catalyst for change.
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