Mom Receives Letter from 8-Year-Old Daughter After She Died in Camp Mystic Flooding

Before tragedy struck, an eight-year-old girl wrote a letter from camp about how happy she was. Now, that letter is a lifeline of love for her grieving mother, family, and community.

As families continue to mourn the tragic flash flooding that claimed multiple lives at Camp Mystic in Texas, Lindsey McCrory is holding onto a deeply personal letter from her eight-year-old daughter, Blakely McCrory. Blakely wrote the letter days before the disaster happened.

People Magazine reports that Blakely was one of the campers who died when the Guadalupe River overflowed during devastating rain over the weekend on July 4, 2025. In the wake of the tragedy, the little girl's family found succor in some of her items recovered from the devastated cabin. Among the items was the letter.

In the note, the deceased camper had written to her mom, describing how happy she was at camp. She went on to narrate the fun time she was having playing tennis and horseback riding. "Having the letter is actually very special because I knew that she was having the best time of her life," Lindsey tells the publication.

This summer was Blakely's first time at Camp Mystic, a Christian camp nestled in the Texas Hill Country. The experience was especially meaningful for the family. Lindsey, along with her stepmother, stepsisters, and sisters, had all attended the camp years earlier.

According to the publication, the grieving mother disclosed that Blakely was a "third-generation Mystic camper," and "ecstatic" to be there, adding:

"She could not wait to be in the outdoors. It was like having the biggest sleepover you can imagine as a little girl, because you're in a cabin with 11 girls who become your best friends, right?"

Meanwhile, when Lindsey, who was vacationing in Europe with her younger sister, first heard that it was raining at the camp, she wasn't alarmed because she remembered being at Camp Mystic herself during a similar weather condition in 1987.

"They're probably having a blast. Because that's what I remembered: Oh, rainy day, stay in your cabin, play board games, or listen to music, whatever. It's going to pass," she recalled thinking. But several hours later, her tone changed when a friend called to tell her that some campers were unaccounted for.

That call prompted Lindsey to listen to a voicemail from the camp that confirmed her daughter was missing. The sorrowful mother and her sister immediately booked a flight back to Texas that night. While they flew home with no news, Blakely's older half-brother, Brady, and his mom searched evacuation centers nearby for any sign of the young girl.

By Sunday, when there was still no word, the 50-year-old mother said, "I thought, 'Oh, maybe she and one of those counselors are somewhere dry, but they're just lost…Maybe they're just lost, and I don't know, they're surviving together somehow.' I mean, of course, you want to think these things."

As the search efforts continued, Lindsey shared a message publicly the same Sunday, thanking everyone for the love, support, and prayers. Although it was hard to stay positive, they were directing all their hope, prayer, and energy toward first responders and the search for Blakely and her campmates. She encouraged everyone else to do the same.

The confirmation of Blakely's death came on Monday night. Though heartbroken, Lindsey found a sense of peace in finally knowing what had happened to her daughter:

"And I guess I had prepared myself mentally for that phone call, that I might get that call, that she has passed. So I was calm. It gave me some closure, and I knew she was in a safe place, with her daddy, in heaven. I knew that it was going to be okay."

Earlier this year, in March, Blakely's father, Blake McCrory, passed away after a short battle with cancer. Not long after, Lindsey also lost her brother. Still, she said, Blakely stayed strong through it all.

"She was a live wire, just had a fun, spirited attitude, the type of child that doesn't stay down for long. She was sad, but she didn't skip a beat — a very resilient child," Lindsey said, adding that "People wanted to be around her. She was so funny, and she was a prankster."

After Blakely was confirmed deceased, Lindsey and her family released another heartfelt statement. They said they had initially prayed for a miracle, but now knew Blakely had died in the early hours of the flooding, along with many others. Though devastated, they said they found comfort knowing she was safe and secure in the arms of Jesus.

Her daughter's bright personality lives on in memories shared by friends and family. Blakely was a prankster who once put her pet box turtle in her mom's purse as a joke. She also had a calming influence on others. After the flooding, one of her cabin counselors told Lindsey that Blakely "encouraged the campers to not be afraid."

Now, Lindsey clings to the letter that represents her daughter's last words. "I'm just so grateful to keep her spirit alive. I want to be the type of mom that honors my daughter, and keeps that spirit close, and not forget, not put pictures away, and not be able to look at them. That's not me. She's so close to me, and I know she's watching me right now, and keeping me close," she stated.

Lindsey, Brady, and the rest of their family continue to lean on their faith to carry them through the loss. "It's so tough to be without her, and my husband, but we're just, we are reassured by our faith, that she is in heaven. She's there, and she's okay, and she's looking down on us," the bereaved mother said.

"And we strongly believe that it happened quickly. She didn't have to suffer. I just have this feeling," she adds, "She's with all those campers and staff who died, and other children. I just imagine it as a happy place, a peaceful place."

When Joy Turned to Grief For Camp Mystic Campers and Families

Across Texas, communities reeled from the scale of the tragedy. Blakely was not the only child lost at Camp Mystic. Eight-year-old twins Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence also died in the flooding, while their 14-year-old sister Harper survived. The girls were granddaughters of childhood education advocate David Lawrence Jr.

The girls' father, John Lawrence, reportedly expressed that they brought immense joy to their family and many others, adding that the family would find a way to preserve that joy and continue to share it in memory of the twins.

A viral post further captured the haunting contrast between joy and tragedy. Just days before the flood, 13 Camp Mystic girls and two counselors were photographed smiling together on a tennis court, arms around each other. Many of those girls are now confirmed dead or listed as missing, including Molly DeWitt, Abby Pohl, Ellen Gorten, and counselor Katherine Ferruzzo.

Tributes continued to pour in for those deceased: counselor Chloe Childress, known for her kindness and leadership; campers like Sarah Marsh, Janie Hunt, Eloise Peck, Lila Bonner, Anne Margaret Bellows, Renee Smajstrla, Linnie McCown, and Mary Stevens.

But, for Lindsey, it's her daughter's spirit and the joy she left behind that continues to shine through the sorrow. As the waters recede and families try to make sense of the heartbreak left behind, Blakely's letter stands as a lasting reminder of a young life lived with joy, resilience, and love.