A 12-year-old boy who died just one day after arriving at North Carolina’s controversial Therapeutic Wilderness Camp died of a “suspicious” death that did not appear to be of natural causes, police said.
The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the unidentified boy had been dead for “some time.”
Less than 24 hours later, he had been “transported by his parents” from New York to a therapy camp.
The boy was then assigned to a cabin with other minors and four other adult staff members, all of whom have since been placed on leave, the camp said.
It remains unclear when the boy died and the cause of his death, but forensic pathologists said it “does not appear to be natural.” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators executed search warrants Tuesday at the camp and at a second location more than 30 miles away. Police said Trails Carolina Camp removed other campers who were in the cabin where the 12-year-old boy died.
Investigators said “Trails Carolina Camp is not fully cooperating with the investigation.”
The group, which calls itself “Wilderness Camp for Troubled Youth,” blasted the sheriff’s office’s assessment in a statement Thursday, claiming it “does not present an accurate representation of the facts.”
Trails Carolina said preliminary findings do not suggest foul play was involved or that other campers were involved. The group claimed that those who shared the cabin with the deceased boy were moved to minimize the traumatic impact of his death.
The program said its own internal investigation and review by outside experts found no evidence that the program failed to provide oversight, caused harm, or that conditions at the facilities were unsafe or unhealthy.
Additionally, Trails Carolina maintained that its staff were fully cooperating with the investigation and were available for interviews.
“Any claims to the contrary are false, reckless and defamatory,” the program said.
Trails Carolina, located approximately 55 miles southwest of Asheville, is a community-based company that helps children ages 10 to 17 “cope with behavioral and emotional challenges, build trusting relationships with family and peers, and achieve goals.” It describes itself as a “nature-based therapy program that helps people.” Academic success. ”
But the program, which costs up to $715 per day depending on the student’s age, is not without controversy.
In 2022, former employees accused Trails Carolina of failing to provide the professional treatment and therapy it promised to troubled youth and imposing restraints on campers who caused problems for staff. He criticized him for using it.
A few years earlier, in 2017, a 17-year-old camper died of hypothermia after running away from the program.
Trails Carolina is one of dozens of so-called “troubled teen” facilities in the United States that have come under intense scrutiny in recent years as survivors, including Paris Hilton, speak out about the abuse they endured.
with post wire
