"I definitely know they're together,” says Lindsey McLeod McCrory of her 8-year-old daughter and husband, who both died last year
Credit: Courtesy Lindsey McLeod McCrory
NEED TO KNOW
- As the anniversary of the Texas floods approaches, Lindsey McLeod McCrory is determined to keep her 8-year-old daughter Blakely’s memory alive after she died at Camp Mystic
- The mom believes that her late husband, Blake McCrory, is with their child in heaven
- “Every day is a struggle,” says Lindsey, who has partnered with other grieving families to advocate for new camp safety legislation
A year after 8-year-old Blakely McCrory died at Camp Mystic during the destructive floods in Texas Hill Country, her mom continues to honor her “happy” and “playful” spirit by pushing for camp safety legislation with other grieving families.
She takes comfort in knowing that her late husband — who died of cancer just months before their daughter — is with their little girl.
“I do look for signs that they're surrounding me. I definitely know they're together,” says Lindsey McLeod McCrory of Blakely, who died when rain caused the Guadalupe River to rise to historic levels on July 4, 2025. “That's the one thing that gives me peace about the situation, that they have each other. It is a blessing.”
Blakely was one of the more than two dozen campers and counselors who died at the Christian sleepaway camp that holiday weekend. The young girls are referred to as Heaven’s 27 by their surviving families, who are determined to honor their legacy by ensuring such a catastrophe never happens again.
While more than 130 people were killed in the floodwaters, Camp Mystic became a national symbol of the tragedy after so many campers died.
This month, the 100-year-old camp, which remains closed this summer, filed for bankruptcy, and an investigation by state legislators determined that the organization failed to prepare for disaster. The grieving mom says that the camp’s original plan to reopen this summer was “not appropriate” because one camper, 8-year-old Cecilia “Cile” Steward, remains unaccounted for.
“Every time I tell the story about Blakely,” says Lindsey, a 51-year-old account executive at a recruitment firm, “it's just a reminder that she's not here, and had there been more attention to implementing evacuation plans and taking safety seriously, she would still be here.”
Credit: Courtesy of Lindsey McLeod McCrory
On July 4, Lindsey was vacationing with her younger sister in Europe when she learned that there were “campers not accounted for” at the camp she’d previously attended as a child in Hunt, Texas.
She rushed back to the U.S., and by the following Monday, she learned that Blakely’s body had been found. “I felt comforted by everyone who loves me, and just by my faith,” Lindsey previously told PEOPLE of learning the news while she was surrounded by loved ones.
In the following days, she received two letters from the 8-year-old written on pre-filled stationery, a sweet reminder that the little girl “was having the best time of her life,” Lindsey says.
In the long months following the national tragedy, she went back to work and continued to be surrounded by her support system in Bellaire, Texas.
“Every day is a struggle,” Lindsey says, “but just living and carrying out just Blakely's life and her memory, that's what motivates me.”
She and her 20-year-old stepson, Brady, are still reeling from the loss of her husband and his father, 59-year-old Blake McCrory, who died of Type 2 cancer in March 2025, followed by Lindsey’s brother, Chanse — all of which occurred before Blakely was caught up in the flood waters.
Brady, a rising college junior, was able to return to school, but it’s been difficult for the whole family.
Credit: Courtesy of Joanie McLeod
“It just took us all by surprise. We just weren't prepared for all these losses,” says Lindsey. “We're moving on with our lives, but it's difficult because they're so missed. There's definitely a void there.”
For Blakely’s first “heavenly birthday” on April 10, the family had a private gathering to celebrate the little girl who loved to dance and sing.
Lindsey thinks about her daughter every day, but has found solace with her new “best friends,” the other Camp Mystic families who are grieving their daughters. “We hold each other up,” says Lindsey. “We're there to support each other. It's been amazing.”
Credit: Courtesy Lindsey McLeod McCrory
Together, they’ve formed the Heaven’s 27 Foundation to memorialize the girls and carry out charitable works in their names.
Collectively, the families have advocated for new camp safety legislation, which they want to see made into law in every state. It began last September when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott passed new camp safety laws under Senate Bill 1, also known as the “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” according to CNN.
Closer to home, Lindsey and her community have been fundraising in Blakely’s name. As a result, a memorial pavilion, where students can play soccer, has been installed in Blakeley’s school in her honor, and a butterfly climber has been constructed at a local Bellaire park.
Funds have also been raised to send underprivileged children to different day camps, and a scholarship has been established at her theater group, Lindsey says.
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For Lindsey, these public works help ensure her daughter’s memory is kept alive — full of the light and joy that she brought to so many. But there is no danger that Blakely will be forgotten in Lindsey's heart.
Every week, she posts videos of the little girl dancing and singing on an Instagram page, Blakely’s Butterfly, to inspire others.
Credit: Courtesy of Manny Chan Photography
Lindsey says she cherishes each memory and video of her daughter. Her one regret is that she didn’t take more photographs together. Like many proud moms, her camera lens was often turned towards her smiling husband and child.
“Those are very cherished,” says Lindsey of her trove of videos and pictures of her beaming, dark-eyed daughter. “That's how I keep her close.”
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