Cecilia “Cile” Stewart’s parents threw her a ninth birthday party last month, but one person wasn’t in attendance: the birthday girl herself.
Since Schier was swept away by floodwaters that flooded Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country last summer, her mother has written her daughter a letter every day to cope with her grief.
Meanwhile, her father has been closely following the ongoing search for her remains by Texas authorities, but his hopes are growing slimmer by the day.
“I have a heavy feeling that they’re never going to find her,” Will Steward and his wife, CiCi Steward, said this week in an emotional interview with “Today” alongside their longtime friend, fellow Texan and show co-host Jenna Bush Hager.
CiCi and Will Stewart were interviewed by Jenna Bush Hager on Tuesday. (today)
(today)
Ziller was one of 130 people killed on July 4 when slow-moving thunderstorms in Kerr County, Texas, caused the Guadalupe River to overflow, turning a meandering river into a terrifying torrent.
Cile, 8 years old at the time, was one of 27 children and counselors at Camp Mystic, an old Christian summer camp for girls, who died in the flood.
But unlike the other victims, Ziller’s body was never found.
“I write her every day. I tell her how sorry I am for what happened to her. I’m sorry her life was stolen,” CiCi Steward told Bush Hager, her voice breaking.
“Even though I cry every time I write her a letter, that’s how I stay close to her,” she said. “We look at pictures of her every day. Thank God for our cell phones and the wealth of photos and videos we have. A blessing and a curse indeed.”
The MC spoke with Bush-Hage, who has been friends for more than 20 years, on the same day they filed a lawsuit against the Eastland family, which has operated a women’s training camp in Travis County, Texas, for decades.
“They were completely unprepared,” Brad Beckworth, the couple’s attorney, said of Eastland.
The board argued in the lawsuit that despite the camp’s location in a flood plain and its well-documented history of flooding, the Eastlands had a simple emergency evacuation plan and that they repeatedly ignored National Weather Service flood warnings.
By the time they began evacuating the girls from the flooded cabin, it was too late, the lawsuit says.
“It was absolute chaos,” Beckworth told Bush Hager. “When you talk to the counselors, they can hear the screaming. No one knows what to do. They don’t know where to go.”
Victims included Richard “Dick” Eastland, the owner of Camp Mystery. His family said he died trying to save the girl.
The arbitrator said in the lawsuit that Eastland and his son, Edward Eastland, waited for more than an hour before trying to evacuate the girls from the cabin.
They insisted in interviews with Bush Hager that camp counselors and first responders deserve credit for saving most of the 750 girls at Camp Mystic when the flooding began.
“There are heroes in Camp Mystic, but none named Eastland,” CiCi Steward said.
The Austins are seeking more than $1 million in actual and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.
In response to the lawsuit, Eastlands’ attorney Mikal Watts said they “intend to prove and prove that this sudden flood, which far exceeded any previous flooding in the area, was unexpected and unforeseen and that the area did not have an adequate flood warning system.”
Stewards said they were angry that the Eastlands were trying to revive their business while their daughter was missing.
“This is an active crime scene,” CiCi Steward said. “I don’t know anyone in their right mind who would want to send their child to an active crime scene.”
“Same leadership,” Will Stewart added, complementing his wife’s thoughts. “We don’t object to kids going to camp. We object to Eastland having the audacity to send out deposit slips when our child, one of the campers they claim to love as a community, is still missing.”
The couple’s attorney, Brad Beckworth, agreed.
“There’s a rush to reopen without everyone knowing the facts of what’s going on,” he said. “And, I mean, as a parent, I can tell you, my kids will never go back to this family-run camp.”
Three days after last summer’s deadly flooding, Bush Hager revealed on the “Today” show that her mother, former first lady Laura Bush, had served as a camp counselor at Camp Mystic.
“And, a lot of my friends grew up at this camp,” Bush Hager said. “Texas [summer] The camp is an institution for many family members, generations – this camp is 100 years old – so grandmothers, mothers, children have all been there. “
Bush Hager asked CiCi Steward to read a statement prepared by the couple before the interview.
“Our hearts are broken,” the grieving mother read. “Our souls are in turmoil. But we have no choice but to fight for the lives of Zile and the other 26 girls so that their lives will not be taken in vain. They deserve better.”
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com
