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

[realanastasia]

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.

“Protocol” dictated that the newly arrived camper would have to spend the night on the floor of the bunkhouse, in a makeshift tent which he could not leave without assistance from staff? What aspects of THAT practice are ‘evidence-based” or “trauma-informed”?

More horrific details (bolded by me) from this article—IMO, there are probably details still to be learned about the staff members’ role in this child’s death: Warrant: 12-year-old boy found cold, stiff at NC wilderness camp

“According to the warrant, the boy was laying on a mat on the floor of a bunk house.
[…]
“CJH was laying on his back with his arms on his chest and his knees bent upwards toward the sky.”

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.”

 

[airportwoman]

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.

Maybe the position was due to rigor mortis?

 

[Howl]

along with the requirement to no longer use "Bivy bags" (what seem similar to tents?) effective immediately.

A bivy bag, a lightweight water proof cover for a sleeping bag, is often an option for ultralight backpacking for those who don't want to carry a tent.
Here's an overview of some nice ones: The 5 Best Bivy Sacks
It can also be part of a wilderness emergency kit, like this one.
Possibly, a bivy in this instance might be a sleeping sack rather than two separate sheets.

My heart breaks for this child, panic attack and anxiety, terrified.

​

 

[bettyboop]

I am tagging @iamshadow21 , who might be interested in this case. JMO MOO

 

[RickshawFan]

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?

It's possible they drugged him, and placed him on his back? Maybe someone shoved something he was allergic to into his mouth? Being on the back would be dangerous, yes? From cop shows, if you are DUI, they don't let you stay on the ground on your back. They roll you so you're on your side. And they removed his pants, so he wouldn't urinate on them, knowing if he did they'd never issue him a clean pair?

And perhaps they had a homemade bivy of some type that they used for some kind of swaddling?

As I understand it, he was in full rigor mortis. That means, he had to be dead for at least 6 hours or something?

 

[RickshawFan]

A bivy bag, a lightweight water proof cover for a sleeping bag, is often an option for ultralight backpacking for those who don't want to carry a tent.
Here's an overview of some nice ones: The 5 Best Bivy Sacks
It can also be part of a wilderness emergency kit, like this one.
Possibly, a bivy in this instance might be a sleeping sack rather than two separate sheets.

My heart breaks for this child, panic attack and anxiety, terrified.

​

I'm thinking the bivy bags were DIY and used as a restraint. They were being used inside a cabin, on top of a ground cloth on the floor. The article says they had alarms on them? I guess so you couldn't get out?

 

[RickshawFan]

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.

I'm thinking they were DIY and used like restraints. Body bags with fasteners. They just called them bivy bags as a euphemism.

I'm thinking what LE calls "burritos", just maybe not from the LE online store. Or:

Humane Restraint HSLP-100 Suicide Safety Sleeping Bag | Anchortex

Low prices and fast shipping on the full line of Humane Restraint patient safety clothing and tools - for government and behavioral healthcare facilities only.

www.anchortex.com

Or:

Humane Restraint HBW Humane Blanket Wrap | Anchortex

Low prices and fast shipping on the full line of Humane Restraint patient safety clothing and tools - for government and behavioral healthcare facilities only.

www.anchortex.com

This camp seems super cheap-o. I doubt they were using nice bivy bags. And this was indoors, so no need for the real thing.

I'll bet the child died in a fetal position, and they flipped him over for CPR or to coverup.

 

[LadyL]

There is no doubt our mental health system is under severe strain and there are treatment deserts. That is no excuse for a wilderness camp. It's like saying if there's no therapy available for an adult with depression, let's ship them off to prison instead. It is not the same. A wilderness program is NOT treatment, IMO. Just because they're children and we don't know what to do doesn't mean we should abandon reason and allow them to be traumatized. We wouldn't allow adults to be treated this way. Why on earth is the bar lower for defenseless kids?

MOO.

when they are hurting themselves and a danger to others, it could be a choice between police involvement or a wilderness camp when parents and professionals have tried everything else

 

[iamshadow21]

I am tagging @iamshadow21 , who might be interested in this case. JMO MOO

Yeah, I'm here, have been for a couple of days. Having a lot of feelings, but nothing has coagulated into words, yet. I'm very aware that if I'd grown up in Utah rather than Australia, I would have likely ended up in one of these places. It's a lot to process.

This kid deserved to grow up, and because of the choices and actions of a bunch of adults, he never gets to, and that is obscene.

MOO

 

[LadyL]

I can't condone sending any child here, especially when they have the resources to pay for proper therapy, but especially not children with autism, adhd, add, and other neuroedivergence, which this camp says they can help with. How do they think they will do anything other than damage to these kids? Scare the neurodivergance away? Deprive them of basic human decency until they learn how to mask the very essence of who they are?.

I agree with every point you have made in this thread!.

don't you think most parents will have tried all those other resources, including 'proper' therapy? I would think they are at the end of the road and desperate

 

[RickshawFan]

don't you think most parents will have tried all those other resources, including 'proper' therapy? I would think they are at the end of the road and desperate

IMO many desperate parents go for the most extreme treatment rather than trying less forceful options. We ran into this in the Ferriter case: they didn't even get their child therapy, but instead locked him in a box.

 

[RickshawFan]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>
There's no evidence those kinds of places are beneficial to anyone, and this particular place had a history of infractions.

IMO turning nature into an instrument of torture is not for any child. There are plenty of camps for every which variety of kid that are not so extreme. Challenging, but not torture.

 

[LadyL]

IMO many desperate parents go for the most extreme treatment rather than trying less forceful options. We ran into this in the Ferriter case: they didn't even get their child therapy, but instead locked him in a box.

I have no doubt some parents do but I also have no doubt that many parents have tried everything else, including Paris Hilton's parents.

 

[LadyL]

There's no evidence those kinds of places are beneficial to anyone, and this particular place had a history of infractions.

IMO turning nature into an instrument of torture is not for any child. There are plenty of camps for every which variety of kid that are not so extreme. Challenging, but not torture.

I agree but I would think some of these parents were fooled or didn't do proper research. A lot of kids might not be welcome at those other camps. Or they get accepted and then kicked out because they are truly out of control.

 

[LadyL]

Seems to have an impressive staff. Many licensed SW, Behavioral Health, recreational therapist, PHD, heading up education, an local MD, UNC grad and many more.

Trails Carolina - Leading Wilderness Therapy For Teens and Adolescents

Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program helping teens and adolescents ages 10-17 who struggle with mental health challenges. Learn more.

trailscarolina.com

I can see how a parent would think this is safe

 

[GoBuckeyes]

"Many students who come to us face challenges such as mental health challenges, behavioral issues, or emotional struggles that hinder their academic performance."
Honestly, for once put the child's wellbeing first and not academic performance. Seems infinitely more important to have a living child and find reputable local treatment modalities. Moo

Many of these parents have likely tried everything that they can locally. I don't fault them.

 

[IDK]

I’m not familiar with bivy bags, other than what I’ve read here. I guess the theory is to provide a small, enclosed space like a cocoon either for comfort, restraint or punishment?

As a person with severe claustrophobia, being placed in something like that would be pure torture and make my panic worse. The pants being removed is worrisome— however, if there was any evidence of SA, I think that would have been mentioned by now?

 

[Hoopsticks]

The Troubled Teen industry is an absolute nightmare. The Elan School and everything awful that happened there should have been what shut it down completely, but somehow, this practice persists.

 

[iamshadow21]

The Troubled Teen industry is an absolute nightmare. The Elan School and everything awful that happened there should have been what shut it down completely, but somehow, this practice persists.

I knew someone online who had been sent to Evergreen. He said that out of his class/intake of about a dozen teens and young people, he was the only one who hadn't ended up killing himself.

There needs to be oversight, there needs to be regulation. There needs to be transparency. There needs to be fully trained and certified staff and proper emergency procedures.

If it would be considered abusive and illegal if it happened in a home, school, or prison, then it should be considered abusive and illegal if it happens in the woods, an institution, or in a reform school. And those who hurt kids or through actions or neglect allow them to be hurt should be prosecuted. Simple.

MOO

 

[Rolypolyoly]

“Protocol” dictated that the newly arrived camper would have to spend the night on the floor of the bunkhouse, in a makeshift tent which he could not leave without assistance from staff? What aspects of THAT practice are ‘evidence-based” or “trauma-informed”?

More horrific details (bolded by me) from this article—IMO, there are probably details still to be learned about the staff members’ role in this child’s death: Warrant: 12-year-old boy found cold, stiff at NC wilderness camp

“According to the warrant, the boy was laying on a mat on the floor of a bunk house.
[…]
“CJH was laying on his back with his arms on his chest and his knees bent upwards toward the sky.”

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.”

And all this after he had been known to have had a panic attack! He must have been so scared .