Nearly a week has passed since 8-year-old Cile Steward vanished during the devastating flash flood at Camp Mystic — and in that time, the world has waited, prayed, and watched in silence.
Appearing at a small candlelight vigil by the riverbank, Mrs. Steward, eyes swollen from sleepless nights, stood quietly in front of dozens of flickering flames. In her hands, she clutched a small, weathered teddy bear — one that still smelled faintly of lavender. Cile’s favorite.
She didn’t shout. She didn’t demand.
She simply said, almost in a whisper:
“I dreamed about her last night… She was wearing the yellow jacket I begged her to pack, even though she didn’t like it.”
The crowd fell completely still.
“She smiled at me,” the mother continued, voice trembling.
“She didn’t say anything. But I heard her laugh. And I just want to believe that somehow… somehow she’s still out there. Waiting.”
Local authorities say the search is ongoing, now extending 20 miles downstream. Volunteers have joined in from neighboring counties, scouring the mud, trees, and broken cabins that once made up the summer camp.
The Steward family has refused to leave the area. A tent has been set up near the search perimeter where Cile’s father and uncles sleep in shifts. Her mother returns to the same bench by the riverside every morning.
“We’re not planning a funeral,” her father told a local station.
“We’re planning a homecoming.”
Photos of Cile — bright smile, messy braids, always barefoot in summer — have flooded social media, as strangers across the country begin sharing her story with hashtags like #FindCile and #BringHerHome.
But for her mother, none of that matters more than the one moment she’s still holding on to:
“She laughed in my dream. She laughed like she always did. That’s how I know she’s not gone.”