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

[RatHole]

So, parents are still sending their kids there for 'intake'? And they haven't pulled their kids out, after the death of a camper?

JMO

IMO those are bad parents

 

[RickshawFan]

I smell the aroma of arrests coming. Things happening at that camp sounds like the treatment of children has been abusive and inhumane beyond our own comprehension.

AUG 2021 - repeatedly cited
Child at age 14 dropped off by parents
New inspection finds more problems at wilderness therapy camp for kids, teens

It actually sounds from ^^^ that juveniles were involved? Or is it that sheriff went looking for all juveniles for a count to make sure they were safe?

I wonder if, when Carolina Trails called parents for permission for kids to meet with LE, they actually explained the exact situation?
Can't LE call parents directly for permission before they interview kids? Why would Carolina Trails officials be charged with doing that when presumably, for being the "buck stops here" officials, they are under scrutiny as potentially involved?

Oh, I get it. Camp officials wouldn't tell LE the kids' last names, only the first. It seems to me, LE has authority to have full names. I'm saying this on the grounds that DCF would have full names if someone called in a tip. Investigators are entitled to know, correct?

 

[RickshawFan]

I would be most interested to read about the Congressional investigation into this camp. Could you supply a link? Thanks

This link includes also info on how poorly credentialed, paid, and trained staff were. Note: it was State senators, not national congress.

‘It’s beyond cruel’: Inside an N.C. wilderness therapy program for teens

Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy camp in the mountains of North Carolina, advertises itself as a place to help children. But interviews with former participants, staff and parents who have sent their children to the camp suggest it may do the opposite.

www.wbtv.com

 

[BloodHound10-81]

<modsnip> It's sad to wave bye to your kid and they never come back. ( Some parents just give up and possibly shouldn't be parents.) This is a homicide case... Or was an accident getting covered up. This was most likley done by one of his peers and all who were there at the time should be tracked down and questioned. Staff just turned a blind eye. Hopefully the camp has good insurance or should honestly just close.

 

[RickshawFan]

I believe these programs are all short term stabilization programs, you will be lucky if insurance will cover 7-14 days.

This case involves families with parents are shelling out up to $1,000 a day out of pocket for Carolina Trails. I would imagine insurance doesn't cover any of that, but cost doesn't seem to be a concern.

 

[DeDee]

Isn't the position the child was in when medics arrived indicates he's flat on his back with his knees bent and pointing towards the sky? Were his feet planted on the ground? Or was this more of a fetal position?

Maybe this child shivered, then froze to death outdoors? His death happened so suddenly upon arrival who knows what verbal criticisms he heard after being stripped from his own clothes so he could wear the camp issued uniform. It's tragic for him, his parents and all of loved him. Plus, my sympathies are with the remaining campers.

 

[kaen]

Young people who are doing extremely risky behavior don't go to LE places that are particularly safe.They live dormitory style with older and younger teens housed together. The situations are often violent-- physically and sexually. Gang affliations are often already formed and a lot of young people will cement themselves into a situation in order to not be assaulted/robbed/targeted sexually.

At the end of the day, these camps and juvenile facilities are not restorative and/or safe in the ways we might all hope. As I have written across this thread, there are few if any options to rehabilitate and turn lives around. Many in juvenile facilities come out more hardened and traumatised just as many here have id'ed those who attended these outdoor wilderness programs.

Very little has been sunk into creating a system that can really be there for these young people. We have varying perspectives here-- from a medical standpoint the goal is to stabilize and provide ongoing care, from a school perspective the students are reintegrated into program with the idea of ongoing care. In truth, the ongoing care is lacking and these kids are held together with spit and glue and chewing gum.

 

[Simply Southern]

This link includes also info on how poorly credentialed, paid, and trained staff were. Note: it was State senators, not national congress.

‘It’s beyond cruel’: Inside an N.C. wilderness therapy program for teens

Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy camp in the mountains of North Carolina, advertises itself as a place to help children. But interviews with former participants, staff and parents who have sent their children to the camp suggest it may do the opposite.

www.wbtv.com

I was looking for the Senate letter and transcripts of the hearing. I think it's important to look at the entire enquiry and the outcome.

The article appears to be personal interviews were 2 previous camper and one employee.
The only reference I found to the Senate hearing ....
"That’s shorter than what an attorney for Trails Carolina recently told members of the N.C. Senate, who wrote a letter to the camp raising various questions about its program."

 

[Rolypolyoly]

I suspect that the "muscle" employed at (and also used outside) the camp is not listed on the site.

I read a former employee say that the "Transport" is a separate company that provide the snatching service that parents hire themselves. Apparently the camp discourages it (I'm sure they do ).
I don't have a link so this is MOO

Agree, they need the stabilization but then does the family have money to private pay for residential care. It is RARELY covered by insurance and a child living in a hospital setting for months is not a healing environment

Insurance doesn't pay for this camp at all, it says so on their website, so these parents that have $715 a day for an average stay of 85 days probably have the means for private mental health treatment. JMO

 

[cujenn81]

It actually sounds from ^^^ that juveniles were involved? Or is it that sheriff went looking for all juveniles for a count to make sure they were safe?

I wonder if, when Carolina Trails called parents for permission for kids to meet with LE, they actually explained the exact situation?
Can't LE call parents directly for permission before they interview kids? Why would Carolina Trails officials be charged with doing that when presumably, for being the "buck stops here" officials, they are under scrutiny as potentially involved?

Oh, I get it. Camp officials wouldn't tell LE the kids' last names, only the first. It seems to me, LE has authority to have full names. I'm saying this on the grounds that DCF would have full names if someone called in a tip. Investigators are entitled to know, correct?

That’s also my understanding. They were withholding not only the names and current location of the children that were present in the cabin where the child died, but they were also refusing to provide the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the parents of the campers. And they weren’t only withholding that information from the local law enforcement agencies investigating the incident but also from the state social workers (which I’m not sure is 100% legal). When children are exposed to traumatic events, social workers have the right and responsibility to interview children in a safe and secure environment away from the potential influence of their parents.

 

[RickshawFan]

Isn't the position the child was in when medics arrived indicates he's flat on his back with his knees bent and pointing towards the sky? Were his feet planted on the ground? Or was this more of a fetal position?

Maybe this child shivered, then froze to death outdoors? His death happened so suddenly upon arrival who knows what verbal criticisms he heard after being stripped from his own clothes so he could wear the camp issued uniform. It's tragic for him, his parents and all of loved him. Plus, my sympathies are with the remaining campers.

I'm not sure we know what position the child was in. On your back with knees towards the sky seems a kind of odd position to pass away naturally in. He was tied maybe?

I'll bet they weren't even issued jackets or anything like that. Maybe just cotton sweatshirts? It's been very rainy there.

This is all so horrible.

 

[RickshawFan]

That’s also my understanding. They were withholding not only the names and current location of the children that were present in the cabin where the child died, but they were also refusing to provide the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the parents of the campers. And they weren’t only withholding that information from the local law enforcement agencies investigating the incident but also from the state social workers (which I’m not sure is 100% legal). When children are exposed to traumatic events, social workers have the right and responsibility to interview children in a safe and secure environment away from the potential influence of their parents.

This is what I thought. And I believe LE would have an obligation to verify the whereabouts of all the kids. That's kind of a wellness check. It seems VERY unlikely parents wouldn't want LE to do that, given what happened.

 

[Shield Maiden]

I would be interested if this was a step parent...involved...

I know a lot of people who work at these residential therapeutic schools. There are some great ones, and some that are terrible. If anyone is going to put their child in a school like this, they should go do an in person visit, review the credentials of the staff, and get recommendations from other parents or professionals in the area.

How desperate parents must be to choose to do this and to pay this amount of money.

WHAT are these children doing. What are the backgrounds?

Having raised only one fairly "good" child, I can't even imagine behavior that would cause a parent to consider such a camp. Do any of the interviews/stories focus on discussion of what might lead parents to make this horrifying decision. Because surely, parents are torn apart to have reached this point. . .

What do kids who have been sent to these camps acknowledge they did that led their parents to even consider such an extreme measure? Will they discuss/ are they capable of discussing their own behavior in any rational way?

What can possibly push parents to even consider this for a child?

Reading about this case, these parents had their own child kidnapped. This is part of the million-dollar 'troubled teen' industry when parents have their own children taken to residential treatment camps and centers against their will. A friend of mine wrote a book about it, shockingly, this is NOT illegal.

 

[RickshawFan]

Here are warrants for the current case (there was another death maybe 10 years ago):

Warrants show clearer timeline, disturbing details after boy found dead at Trails Carolina

A News 13 investigation is uncovering new details about a 12-year-old’s death at a wilderness therapy program in Transylvania County.

wlos.com

The warrant references bivy bags and restraints, though this might be cautionary and not reflective of the incident.

But, heck, on what planet would a camp have use for bivy bags in a cabin in North Carolina. Sleeping bag yes. Bivy bag NO. They're basically sacks. They have no insulation, so you wouldn't get issued one for warmth. They're sometimes (not always) waterproof. They're generally used to protect from the elements when you bivouac; this can be an emergency, or e.g. if you're climbing El Capitan and to on top of one of those scary-looking platforms hung of a sheer cliff with ropes. Were these bivvies "technical", or homemade? Horrors. I wonder if the camp used them as a restraint, or maybe they had kids exposed to the elements?

Let me continue reading...

That article has WAY more details. I don't even want to spell them out. They're just....

Oh, man...the bivy was a deprivation chamber on the floor of the cabin. Sickening.

 

[angelainwi]

I read a former employee say that the "Transport" is a separate company that provide the snatching service that parents hire themselves. Apparently the camp discourages it (I'm sure they do ).
I don't have a link so this is MOO



Insurance doesn't pay for this camp at all, it says so on their website, so these parents that have $715 a day for an average stay of 85 days probably have the means for private mental health treatment. JMO

But they DO give the name of transport companies to the family and highly encourage working with one.

 

[brow3665]

**After reading the article: The immediate interventions that Dept of Health & Human Services requires for the facility make this seem pretty clear that there is concern about the inappropriate use of restraints, along with the requirement to no longer use "Bivy bags" (what seem similar to tents?) effective immediately. It seems like there is suspicion for inappropriate restraint use potentially leading to his death.

------------------------------------------------------
I am familiar with these situations.

"Taken by two men" meaning his parents either hired (or they were provided by the Wilderness camp) secured transportation to make sure that he got to the camp. Wilderness therapy camp is like residential treatment, but far more hardcore. Substance abuse issues, behavioral issues, mental illness... things that the family hasn't been able to get "under control" at home.

You earn privileges and small rewards based on time there and good behavior. In the beginning, especially given that this kid was only there for a day or two, it is bare bones. No electronics, communication with the outside world, and potentially even isolation from the other people in the camp for the first week or so.

My first thought is suicide or overdose, but who knows his history? The fact that he was reportedly assigned to a cabin with other minors and staff makes me feel like that is less but who knows?

 

[ch_13]

A few more disturbing details:

Warrant: 12-year-old boy found cold, stiff at NC wilderness camp

WBTV Investigates: FBI assisting Transylvania Co. Sheriff with investigation

www.wbtv.com

According to the warrant, the boy was wearing a hoodie and t-shirt but his pants and underwear were laying next to his shoulder. The warrant said none of the staff interviewed by detectives could explain how his pants and underwear were taken off and ended up next to his shoulder.

“Once they rolled the body, CJH began to foam at the mouth, which could’ve indicated that he ingested some sort of poison.”
...
The warrant details an interview with a staff member who was assigned to watch the boy, who had just arrived at the camp.

According to the warrant, the staff member said the boy experienced a panic attack between 12:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.

“Him and another counselor stood along the wall while CJD was experience (sic) panic and high anxiety,” the warrant said.

According to the warrant, the staff member told detectives that the boy was checked on at 12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. before he was found dead at 7:45 a.m.

“He was cold to the touch and stiff,” the staff member reportedly told detectives.

How could he be checked at 6AM and be cold and stiff in less than two hours?

 

[Rolypolyoly]

I'm not sure we know what position the child was in. On your back with knees towards the sky seems a kind of odd position to pass away naturally in. He was tied maybe?

I'll bet they weren't even issued jackets or anything like that. Maybe just cotton sweatshirts? It's been very rainy there.

This is all so horrible.

**After reading the article: The immediate interventions that Dept of Health & Human Services requires for the facility make this seem pretty clear that there is concern about the inappropriate use of restraints, along with the requirement to no longer use "Bivy bags" (what seem similar to tents?) effective immediately. It seems like there is suspicion for inappropriate restraint use potentially leading to his death.

------------------------------------------------------
I am familiar with these situations.

"Taken by two men" meaning his parents either hired (or they were provided by the Wilderness camp) secured transportation to make sure that he got to the camp. Wilderness therapy camp is like residential treatment, but far more hardcore. Substance abuse issues, behavioral issues, mental illness... things that the family hasn't been able to get "under control" at home.

You earn privileges and small rewards based on time there and good behavior. In the beginning, especially given that this kid was only there for a day or two, it is bare bones. No electronics, communication with the outside world, and potentially even isolation from the other people in the camp for the first week or so.

My first thought is suicide or overdose, but who knows his history? The fact that he was reportedly assigned to a cabin with other minors and staff makes me feel like that is less but who knows?

In the article published in the thread it says the boy was wearing his t- shirt and hood, but not his trousers and underwear which were found by his shoulder. It says camp staff couldn't explain the trousers and underwear, that the boy had a panic attack when he arrived (Go figure), and that he was checked at intervals through the night, the last time at 6am, and when they checked him at 7.45am he was cold and stiff.

It also says the death is being treated as manslaughter.

 

[RickshawFan]

I was confused earlier about whether Carolina Trails has just one campus or several. The answer seems to be 4. The juveniles were removed to another campus in Pisgah Forest, which seems to be a town in this instance, and not the National Forest.

 

[ch_13]

"Bivy bags" (what seem similar to tents?)

They're like mini-tents made for one person with just enough room to sleep in. They're generally meant for emergency use or for minimalist hikers. You're supposed to use them with a sleeping bag and a pad.

As @RickshawFan mentioned, there really isn't a good reason for a camp to use them.