NC - 12-year-old dies at Trails Carolina wilderness therapy camp, Lake Toxaway, February 2024

[Izzylizzy]

Obviously this child’s death is a horrible tragedy and should never have happened. Any deficiencies should be addressed including suspension of licensure, if warranted.

I would not be surprised to learn that he may have choked and aspirated. They did mention he ate same snacks in the late evening. He may have gagged during his panic attack, vomited and then not been able to clear his airway in the closed confines of the bivy sac. Especially if he was laying flat on his back. Poor kid, did not deserve any of this and my heart goes out to him and his parents.

Was he medicated first for sleep?
Was he then medicated again by counselors?
Does the camp dispense their own meds?
For admittance are the parents required to give permission to let the camp doctor or shrink medicate them, no matter what prescribed drugs the kids came with?
Haldol has been known to cause death from aspirating.
Drugs are a common go-to when permitted to administer.
One of the worst uses for the dangerous anti-psychotic drug Haldol is when they use it for agitation.

 

[IDK]

“The person who called emergency officials about the Feb. 3 death of a child at a Western North Carolina wilderness therapeutic camp gave halting answers, said they were attempting life-saving procedures and then stopped responding to the 911 dispatcher, according to a transcript of the call.”

“The Citizen Times received the transcript Feb. 14 through a public records request of the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office. The person making the call at 8:09 a.m. identified themselves as an instructor at Trails Carolina Wilderness Therapy and said, "we just woke kids today and we have a kid that's not responsive."”

Details of emergency call in child death at Western NC wilderness camp

Details from a 911 emergency call obtained through a records request after the death of a 12-year-old boy at a Western NC wilderness camp.

www.citizen-times.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

"So, they never blocked access to the kids," D'Alessandro said. "One of the things that was going on was for any of the children to speak with law enforcement or state agencies, they had to ask the parents' permission. They're required by law to do that. And the parents said 'no.'"

It will be very interesting to hear from these parents who supposedly told the camp that their children couldn't speak with police. Exactly what did the camp tell them and were they made aware that a boy had died?

Something tells me that many of the parents whose kids were there have consulted and/or retained lawyers for various reasons.

 

[RickshawFan]

BBM Ditto

LE or whoever was first to arrive found him wearing a hoodie and a T-shirt. Any suggestions that he could have removed his bottom clothes due to being hot makes absolutely no sense.

I'm tossing over in my mind that those might not have been his.... What if someone put them there after the fact?

 

[RickshawFan]

I was an LPC in my former life, never would I recommend placing children diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression in a wilderness program. How could the wilderness program fit into a treatment plan?

Depriving them of everything they might find nurturing and torturing them with nature....

 

[RickshawFan]

BBM Ditto

LE or whoever was first to arrive found him wearing a hoodie and a T-shirt. Any suggestions that he could have removed his bottom clothes due to being hot makes absolutely no sense.

It actually would have been too hot in the bag IMO if it was a technical bivy bag. Waterproof breathable items retain heat. Anyone who puts on rain gear for a hike knows this. And the cheaper the fabric, the less breathable it is, the sweatier. Thighs, especially, put out a lot of heat. Do you know anyone who likes wearing rain pants? Nooooooo!

Also, I suppose another possibility is that he got CO poisoning. I don't know what the symptoms are, however.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

I wonder if the child had some kind of undiagnosed diabetes? (I had been googling foaming at the mouth).

Could the knees being raised be because he had stomach pains?

Even so, there is plenty to be worried about in terms of potential action/inaction of staff.

 

[RickshawFan]

“The person who called emergency officials about the Feb. 3 death of a child at a Western North Carolina wilderness therapeutic camp gave halting answers, said they were attempting life-saving procedures and then stopped responding to the 911 dispatcher, according to a transcript of the call.”

“The Citizen Times received the transcript Feb. 14 through a public records request of the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office. The person making the call at 8:09 a.m. identified themselves as an instructor at Trails Carolina Wilderness Therapy and said, "we just woke kids today and we have a kid that's not responsive."”

Details of emergency call in child death at Western NC wilderness camp

Details from a 911 emergency call obtained through a records request after the death of a 12-year-old boy at a Western NC wilderness camp.

www.citizen-times.com

They didn't wake up the kids until 8:00 am? Right-ho! In a boot camp-style wilderness camp?

LE needs to find out what time kids in that program are made to get out of bed. I'd say, no later than 6 am.

 

[Izzylizzy]

I'm sure the FBI closed up shop and went home, eh?

What could be suspect from an "internal investigation" and from a firm you hired to investigate a death under your watch?

Trails Carolina's verdict is in.


Feb.13,2024

"The facility then pushed back on any suggestions of wrongdoing on their part.

"Trails has conducted an internal investigation of this incident, and the Trails facility has been investigated by outside professionals who are subject-matter experts. Both investigations have concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm, and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy," said Trails. "Speculation of any kind is inappropriate and disrespectful the family."

Staff Watched Boy, 12, Suffer Panic Attacks Before Death at Camp: Cops

Counselors "stood along the wall" and witnessed the boy having a panic attack while sleeping on the floor but "did not mention if [any] counselors attempted to assist CJH with any easement during his anxiety attack," says the warrant.

www.insideedition.com

"

 

[Cryptic]

They would be fools, to commit an act of perjury, to issue a written false statement, while under investigation by every agency with three initials in North Carolina.

Congratulations to Virginia for prosecuting the official.

But... my bet is that perjury charges are rare over all. In the end there could be two different types of perjury:

A. Legal perjury: where one makes demonstratably false statements under oath.

B. Perjury in Spirit: Where one develops a sudden fondness for:
- I cant remember, not sure, maybe- but then again probably not,
- back was turned, left the room, I dont know...

Alot of perjury maybe "B" type and thus cant be prosecuted.

 

[mickey2942]

Where I did my internship, the families were screened, and there was a huge emphasis on family involvement, both for family therapy and individual therapy. Intervention at residential treatment isn't going to work, if the family is not totally invested in repairing the relationship for everyone in the family.

If all parents were not on board, to be heavily involved with repair, our school did not take the kids. Because it wouldn't have changed anything. Kids respond and become dysregulated in an environment that is not working for them. The goal of treatment is to identify the triggers, and help everyone learn to respond in a manner that will smooth the edges.

So, not all residential treatment facilities are negative places, staffed with psychopaths who don't care about kids.

 

[LadyL]

"the counselor said"
This counselor would be #1 on the list of suspects for the boy's unnatural death and until the investigation is complete there's no way in hell I'm giving this camp a pass on anything they say or do, nor should they get one.


"The counselor explained that the boy was required to sleep on the floor inside a sleeping bag, which in turn was inside a small tent called a bivy bag. Around midnight, the counselor said, the boy began to experience a panic attack, according to the search warrant documents.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article285417377.html#storylink=cpy

I wonder if it wasn't a panic attack but something medical that the counsellors failed to address/recognize OR if it was a panic attack brought on by his fear that he KNEW something was wrong physically but his complaints were being ignored. Just speculating.

What, if any, drugs were in his system?

 

[Ladyotm]

They didn't wake up the kids until 8:00 am? Right-ho! In a boot camp-style wilderness camp?

LE needs to find out what time kids in that program are made to get out of bed. I'd say, no later than 6 am.

And they were allowed to refuse police and DSs access to the children? After a child had died under suspicious circumstances the adults in charge could tell cops and the state child protection agency, oh no you're not talking to them. I could see them not asking the kids questions related to what was going on until after they had spoken to parents. But to flat out refuse DSS and cops access. How? A person like you or me would have been detained with no delay.
I'm so sorry
He lost his life.

 

[Dotta]

Also, I suppose another possibility is that he got CO poisoning. I don't know what the symptoms are, however.

"At low concentrations, gaseous carbon dioxide appears to have little toxicological effect.

At higher concentrations it leads to an increased respiratory rate, tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmias and impaired consciousness. Concentrations >10% may cause convulsions, coma and death."

Carbon dioxide poisoning - PubMed

Carbon dioxide is a physiologically important gas, produced by the body as a result of cellular metabolism. It is widely used in the food industry in the carbonation of beverages, in fire extinguishers as an 'inerting' agent and in the chemical industry. Its main mode of action is as an...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Symptoms of mild CO2 exposure may include headache and drowsiness. At higher levels,rapid breathing, confusion, increased cardiac output, elevated blood pressure and increased arrhythmias may occur.
Breathing oxygen depleted air caused by extreme CO2 concentrations can lead to death by suffocation."

 

[ch_13]

"The facility then pushed back on any suggestions of wrongdoing on their part.

"Trails has conducted an internal investigation of this incident, and the Trails facility has been investigated by outside professionals who are subject-matter experts. Both investigations have concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm, and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy," said Trails. "Speculation of any kind is inappropriate and disrespectful the family."

snipped.


So, in the ten days since the boy died, Trails Carolina was able to bring aboard an independent investigation team. That team was then able to conduct a complete inquiry, interview all the relevant parties and submit a thorough report about what occurred. And the investigators were apparently unable to find a single thing that the camp did wrong?

What utter and total BS.

They obviously realize they are in deep trouble and are doing the best to cover their behinds by making these ridiculous claims.

And frankly, I find that last line incredibly offensive. Speculation about TC's lack of competency isn't disrespectful to the family, it's harmful to the company's bottom line.


Edit - Let me add that the we don't even know the cause of death yet. How can any investigation be done without even knowing how the boy died?

 

[Izzylizzy]

I wonder if it wasn't a panic attack but something medical that the counsellors failed to address/recognize OR if it was a panic attack brought on by his fear that he KNEW something was wrong physically but his complaints were being ignored.

The poster IDK got me thinking about the boy having been medicated/over medicated by staff.

 

[LadyL]

The poster IDK got me thinking about the boy having been medicated/over medicated by staff.

funny you say that I had just edited my post to include that possibility

 

[Seni]

I wonder if it wasn't a panic attack but something medical that the counsellors failed to address/recognize OR if it was a panic attack brought on by his fear that he KNEW something was wrong physically but his complaints were being ignored. Just speculating.

What, if any, drugs were in his system?

Report says they just watched.

 

[Izzylizzy]

snipped.


So, in the ten days since the boy died, Trails Carolina was able to bring aboard an independent investigation team. That team was then able to conduct a complete inquiry, interview all the relevant parties and submit a thorough report about what occurred. And the investigators were apparently unable to find a single thing that the camp did wrong?

What utter and total BS.

They obviously realize they are in deep trouble and are doing the best to cover their behinds by making these ridiculous claims.

And frankly, I find that last line incredibly offensive. Speculation about TC's lack of competency isn't disrespectful to the family, it's harmful to the company's bottom line.

BBM
Thanks for pointing out just how "incredibly offensive "that claim is by Trails.
They must think they're dealing with idiots.
I can only imagine the occupations of the parents whose kids are at these Trail Camps and can afford the 600 + a day charge.

 

[RickshawFan]

I wonder if the child had some kind of undiagnosed diabetes? (I had been googling foaming at the mouth).

Could the knees being raised be because he had stomach pains?

Even so, there is plenty to be worried about in terms of potential action/inaction of staff.

We've seen the "foam in the mouth" symptoms from previous cases, e.g. Tammy Daybell. The cause was asphyxiation.

In this case, the warrant paperwork points to the idea that it might be poison. That's for the ME to determine.