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Emily Foxhall

@emfoxhall.bsky.social

200 followers 110 following 51 posts

Climate reporter for the Texas Tribune. Knight Science Journalism Fellow '25. Native Houstonian. Often thinking about hurricanes, heat and floods. Tell me your story: [email protected].

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Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · 15d

The @texastribune.org is trying to reach 500 new members during our Fall member drive. You can support me and our newsroom's important work covering this state by donating: trib.it/friend

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Members make our journalism possible. Support The Texas Tribune with a donation today.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · 21d

It's been amazing to see how this story is connecting with readers. I hope you all will keep sharing the piece, about two dads moving through unimaginable grief in the days and weeks after their daughters died at Camp Mystic and fighting for positive change. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

Reposted by Emily Foxhall

John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 21d

Heartbreak, 17 kisses and a new law: brilliant reporting from @emfoxhall.bsky.social www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

www.texastribune.org

Reposted by Emily Foxhall

Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 22d

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents successfully pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But too late to save their own children. Beautifully told story by former @ksjatmit.bsky.social fellow @emfoxhall.bsky.social via @texastribune.org

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

www.texastribune.org

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · 22d

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to push for new camp laws in Texas. For one, staying busy kept him from dark places in his mind. The other couldn't stop asking why his daughter died. The laws passed, but the dads couldn't get their kids back. My latest:
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/t...

“Our girls are still dead”: Camp Mystic parents pushed for laws to protect kids at camp. But their pain remains.

Two dads helped lead Camp Mystic parents to advocate for new camp rules in the Texas Legislature. What they wanted most was to have their daughters back.

www.texastribune.org

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

After a tearful hearing with testimony from the Camp Mystic parents, Texas senators on the special committee appointed after the July 4 floods voted 8-0 to pass Senate Bill 1 which makes changes to how camps would operate. It will be considered by the full chamber tomorrow night.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

The parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd vows to legislators that the search for the last missing Camp Mystic girl will continue: “We are not stopping the search for Cile."

Her mother said earlier she has been waiting in agony for her child's body to be returned.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Dillon remembered reading thousands of pages of books with his gritty, kind daughter. They played countless hands of Go Fish. “She was my best friend, my greatest contribution to society, and today I sit before you a broken man," he told the lawmakers, urging them to pass reform.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

8-year-old Lucy's father Brandt Dillon: "Our world has been shattered by a tragedy that was 100% preventable." He said their family's plans for the future have been shattered by unsafe facilities, inadequate preparation, failed planning and poor execution.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Sen. Paul Bettencourt tells the parents he can't stop their horrible dreams, but legislators can act to prevent this in the future with Senate Bill 1, named the Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act. “This bill is going to pass," he promises. "These camps are going to be safe. That’s our commitment to you.”

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Lacey Hollis urged legislators to enact meaningful safeguards so no other parents would experience the torture she now feels trapped in. Camp was supposed to be about dancing and wearing fake nails while learning archery. Her 8-year-old "was not protected. She was not safe."

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Eight-year-old Hadley Hanna was her mother Carrie's mini-me and best friend, she said. The mother said she assured her daughter she would be safe at camp, a place for horseback rides and fishing. "I lied to her," she said. The mother identified her child by her fingernail polish.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Hunt said he felt like he failed in his duty as a father to protect Janie. But it was also clear to him: "Camp Mystic was completely unprepared for the flooding that cost my daughter her life."

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Davin Hunt said 9-year-old Janie was their angel child. He said he is plagued by nightmares, trying to find his daughter, kissing her cold head after her death, wishing he would die instead of her, imagining her petrified. "I prefer not to sleep rather than have those dreams."

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

“This was an act of pure complacency," father Blake Bonner said. He told legislators their children were dutiful and perfect. And that these kids paid the ultimate price for doing what they were told: staying in their cabins. They were obeying a plan he said was destined to fail.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

Thinking about the trauma and fear the Mystic girls experienced makes mother Caitlin Bonner feel sick, she said. Her daughter Lila's body was found 5.6 miles downriver. The mother said she will always be haunted by not knowing what she didn't know, assuming her daughter was safe.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

The mother of 8-year-old Cecilia Steward, whose body is still missing, said her daughter was thrilled to make memories like other family members who went to Mystic before her. She said the camp betrayed her trust that the kids would be safe. "My daughter was stolen from us."

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 20

The parents of the 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic are speaking to Texas legislators to support a new bill to make camps safer. It is a mix of deep grief and demands for change. Michael McCown, father of Linnie, age 8: “We did not send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp.”

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 4

Houston people: I'm excited to say I'm teaching again at Inprint this fall. We'll be practicing writing using each of the five senses. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable to writing weekly in a supportive group. Registration and more info here: inprinthouston.org/event/non-fi...

Non-fiction/In-Person 2526-201

inprinthouston.org

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 1

Nick Fang from UT Arlington tells legislators that if they do pay for flood warning systems -- which Sen. Bettencourt earlier today implied they would -- they can't just pay for up-front costs. They also need to consider recurring costs. And there will be no one-size-fits-all system for the state.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 1

In contrast to some early comments this morning when local officials questioned if sirens would have helped in this disaster that felt like it came on so fast, Rice flood modeling and warning expert Phil Bedient tells legislators: “During major storm events every minute counts”

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 1

State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon is telling legislators how the historic rainfall rates that are typically relied on for building and development may be too small. That's because climate change makes extreme rain more likely. texas2036.org/wp-content/u...

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Aug 1

The state legislative hearing on the floods is now onto the meteorology panel. Texas Water Development Board's Carla Guthrie said at one point during the storm *half an inch* of rain was falling *every ten minutes*.

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Jul 31

We got answers at a state hearing this morning about what the Kerr County Judge, who is in charge of emergency management, and Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator were doing in the early morning of July 4 as floods rose.

They were asleep.

www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...

Top two Kerr County emergency officials say they were asleep as July 4 floods struck

Their statements to state legislators marked the first time county officials have spoken publicly about what they were doing the morning of the disaster that killed more than 100 people in the county.

www.texastribune.org

Emily Foxhall @emfoxhall.bsky.social · Jul 31

Leitha confirms that a volunteer fire department chief called at 4:22 a.m. asking for a Code Red -- which is an alert the county can push to subscribers. He said a sargeant approved that a minute later.

But the Code Red didn't go out until 5 a.m. www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming

Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.

www.texastribune.org