Just like many others, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was shaken by the flash floods in Texas this month that claimed the lives of at least 118 people, including 27 campers and counselors in the state’s central region.

Then the Super Bowl-winning quarterback realized those victims were staying at a non-denominational Christian girls’ summer retreat that his sister used to attend: Camp Mystic.

“Terrible, just terrible to witness,” said Stafford, 37, to his wife, Kelly, during her podcast. “I can’t begin to imagine waking up in the middle of the night to something like that, whether you were in the camp or nearby. It’s hard to process. Hard to understand why such things occur.”

“It’s completely heartbreaking. Really difficult to read and watch. I’m thinking of everyone in that part of the country. It really hits close to home for me.”

Among the victims were two eight-year-old twin girls, Hanna and Rebecca.

Stafford’s wife Kelly, 36, immediately thought of their own four daughters, including their twin eight-year-olds, Sawyer and Chandler.

“We’re sending our girls to sleepaway camp for the first time this year,” Kelly shared. “They’re overjoyed. I can picture those girls being just as excited to go to their camp. For it to end like that is simply devastating.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what the parents are feeling.”

Though Stafford was born in Tampa, he grew up in Dallas with his sister, Paige. The specific years she attended Camp Mystic are unknown, and now the camp faces scrutiny over safety after the tragic event.

Texas officials had signed off on Camp Mystic’s emergency procedures just two days before the flood.

On Tuesday, the Department of State Health Services released documentation showing the camp met state requirements for “disaster procedures.” This included instructing campers on evacuations and assigning roles to staff and counselors.

However, five years of inspection records shared with The Associated Press don’t detail what Mystic’s actual plans were, raising concerns about how ready the camp was for the July 4 floods in Texas Hill Country.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch on July 3 at 1:18 p.m. That prompted at least one of nearly 18 camps near the Guadalupe River to relocate campers to higher ground.

What happened at Mystic remains unclear, and local leaders have sidestepped questions about who tracked the weather and what precautions were in place.

Founded in 1926, Camp Mystic didn’t evacuate and was devastated when the Guadalupe River surged from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) in just an hour. Flood stage for that area starts at roughly 10 feet (3 meters).

A surge of floodwater overtook cabins, tents, and RVs beside the river. Some survivors were found hanging onto trees.

The flood killed at least 27 campers and counselors, and by Tuesday, five campers and one counselor were still missing. One fatality was Richard “Dick” Eastland, the beloved camp director described as a father figure.

Charlotte Lauten, 19, spent nine summers at Camp Mystic, most recently in 2023. She said she couldn’t recall ever being told what to do during a disaster.

“I do know that counselors attend orientation training for a full week before camp begins,” she said. “They do get briefed on emergency procedures.”

One major obstacle to escaping, Lauten said, was how dark the night was. Campers don’t carry phones and wouldn’t get service anyway, given the camp’s remote location.

“This place is totally isolated and without electricity,” she explained. “It would’ve been pitch black, like can’t-see-five-feet-in-front-of-you dark. The stars out there are unreal because there’s no light pollution.”

The state’s inspection of Camp Mystic occurred July 2, the same day Texas emergency authorities activated disaster response teams ahead of the expected floods.

The camp passed all health and safety checks, including a lengthy list of criteria. At the time, it had 557 campers and over 100 staffers spread between its Guadalupe and Cypress Lake sites.

Although camps must display disaster plans in every building, the state does not collect those documents, said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Department of State Health Services.

“We don’t have copies,” Anton explained in an email. “You’d have to request them from the camp directly.”

Camp Mystic didn’t respond to inquiries about its disaster protocols. A message on its website said the camp was “in contact with local and state officials who are working tirelessly to locate our missing campers.”

Camps must create their own emergency strategies. Inspectors check if those strategies meet state guidelines, including evacuation planning.

“The inspector confirmed plans were posted throughout camp buildings,” said Anton, “and verified that both staff and volunteers were trained on how to respond.”

Camp Mystic holds a license with the state and is part of the Camping Association for Mutual Progress, which aims to “improve health and safety standards” for youth camps. Leaders of that group didn’t reply to requests.

On Tuesday, the American Camp Association confirmed Camp Mystic is not one of its accredited camps. That group’s focus is safety and risk control. Spokeswoman Lauren McMillin wouldn’t say if Mystic had ever been accredited before, even though the ACA is “the only national group for all camps operating year-round or during summer.”