By Sierra Hart | National Crime Correspondent | July 27, 2025 | Hunt, Texas
In a harrowing update from the heart of Texas, authorities have officially released a series of photographs believed to be the last images taken of the 27 girls swept away during the devastating flash floods near Camp Mystic.
The photo album — reportedly found inside a waterproof plastic box tucked beneath a floorboard in the camp’s arts cabin — was quietly reviewed by law enforcement and federal investigators before being shown to the victims’ families earlier today.
What seemed at first like innocent summer snapshots — smiling faces, bunk beds, talent show rehearsals — quickly turned disturbing as the final 7 photos raised alarms.
“One mother fainted,” said a source present at the viewing. “Another screamed and had to be removed. The images are now being analyzed frame by frame.”
Each of the last 7 photos shows pairs or trios of girls posed stiffly, their expressions blank, their eyes not focused on the camera but seemingly on someone behind it. Most disturbing is the very last image, which appears to be taken from inside a dark storage room, lit only by flashlight.
In it, the girls are kneeling, and one girl is holding up a sign made from torn notebook paper. The text on it reads only:
“We were told not to scream.”
Authorities are refusing to confirm whether the photos were taken before or during the flood, but metadata from a recovered device shows that the final image was timestamped at 3:46AM — roughly 27 minutes before the first distress calls were logged.
Outrage Across the U.S.
The album was released today in a closed-door session with families, but copies have now been leaked onto private forums, causing a firestorm online.
#JusticeForThe27 and #MysticCampCoverup trended within hours, as users questioned how such photos could exist — and why they were hidden until now.
Civil rights groups are demanding a full-scale federal inquiry, and several parents have refused to return the photos, saying they’re now key evidence in what they claim is a criminal case — not just a natural disaster.
“If someone took these photos and didn’t try to help,” one parent said through tears, “they knew. And if they knew, they let our girls die.”