July 13, 2025 | Kerr County, Texas — In another chilling development at the center of the investigation into the 27 missing girls from Camp Mystic, law enforcement has confirmed that a police dog’s strong reaction to a foul-smelling mattress has led to the discovery of a deeply personal item — one that a grieving family has been desperately searching for.
According to authorities, the mattress was located in a seldom-used storage shed behind Cabin C, a structure that had partially flooded and was believed to be uninhabited at the time of the disaster. A trained K9, part of the FEMA response team, began barking and circling the area before locking its attention on a moldy, rolled-up foam mattress leaning against the wall.
“The dog wouldn’t back off,” said Deputy Cole Ramirez. “It was growling low, sniffing the same corner again and again. That was our sign to look deeper.”
At first glance, the mattress appeared heavily waterlogged and infested with mildew. But when officers cut it open, they discovered something lodged between the foam layers — a small, mud-stained music box, still faintly playing a tune when carefully opened.
Authorities have since confirmed that the box belonged to 10-year-old Natalie Rios, one of the 27 girls still missing. The object had been described in detail by her mother just days earlier during a televised plea, where she mentioned the music box was a gift from Natalie’s late grandfather and that “she never went anywhere without it.”
When shown the recovered item, Natalie’s mother collapsed in tears.
“I don’t know how it ended up there,” she told reporters quietly. “But now I know — she was here. That was hers. That’s all I needed to know.”
Investigators are now reviewing how the music box could have ended up in a mattress in a shed not listed on any official camp evacuation path. Several theories are being explored, including whether some of the missing girls had been hidden — voluntarily or not — in overlooked locations during the flood, or if certain belongings were deliberately moved after the event to obscure evidence.
Forensic teams are analyzing the mattress and the surrounding area for DNA, fingerprints, and any trace elements that could indicate how long the item had been there — or whether anyone else might have been in the shed recently.
This find adds to a growing list of unsettling discoveries in recent days, including an underground room behind the dining hall and a sealed hatch beneath an abandoned cabin.
“It’s as if pieces of a larger puzzle are being scattered across this property,” said one investigator. “And every time we find one, it points to something more disturbing.”
Camp Mystic remains under full lockdown as the investigation deepens, with additional cadaver dogs, ground-penetrating radar, and aerial drones being deployed in areas previously deemed non-critical.
For Natalie’s family, the music box may not bring closure — but it offers something else.
“Proof,” her father said. “She mattered. She left a trace. And we won’t stop until we know everything.”