A therapeutic wilderness camp in North Carolina where a camper died within 24 hours of being hospitalized was ordered to close this week, and all current campers were taken into state custody.
The parents were notified that the children had been removed from Trails Carolina Camp on Lake Toxaway and placed in Transylvania County Human Services’ temporary care facility.
“While the investigation is ongoing and we cannot comment on specific details, we have determined that steps must be taken to ensure the health and safety of the children,” the state Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. announced on Friday.
According to Trails Carolina, 18 children were affected. The newspaper called the move “reckless” and accused local law enforcement of bias.
“The children were receiving advanced clinical care for a complex mental health diagnosis that required experienced professionals with thorough knowledge of important medications and specialized treatments.” Camp said in a statement.
Trails Carolina also said DHHS “threatened and threatened parents” by requiring them to travel to pick up the children or risk having the children placed in state custody. insisted.
“The consequences of the state’s reckless actions are far-reaching. 18 vulnerable children who were forced to leave a safe place of healing against their parents’ wishes have suffered lasting, serious and unnecessary harm. There are limited places parents can turn to find the care they need,” Trails Carolina said.
The removal marks a near-total closure of the controversial camp, which was admitted by the state on Monday amid the ongoing “suspicious” death of a 12-year-old camper on Feb. 3. An order was given to stop.
Health and Human Services officials also said at least one staff member must be awake when children are sleeping and that bivy bags (with alarms in case the person inside tries to get out) are required. It also mandated that the use of built-in single-person shelters must be discontinued. The boy slept until his body was discovered the next morning.
The boy, identified in the documents as “CJH,” was found in rigor mortis, foaming at the mouth and naked from the waist down, his pants and underwear lying on the ground next to his right shoulder.
Mr CJH had a panic attack in the middle of the night, during which two counselors were “standing along the wall” of the cabin, but did they offer any help other than opening the bivy to check on him? It is not clear whether
The boy had been transferred to the camp from New York just 24 hours earlier.
The sheriff’s office said Trails Carolina was not fully cooperating with the investigation and intentionally moved the camper to another location to avoid contact with investigators.
The campaign has repeatedly denied the accusations, instead claiming that law enforcement acted inappropriately throughout the investigation.
Trails Carolina claimed in a statement Friday that in the days following CJH’s death, a sheriff illegally removed four boys, ages 10 to 12, from the camp and held them until 1 a.m.
“The parents called the sheriff to prevent further trauma to the boys, who had not yet been informed of the tragedy. The sheriff did not have custody of the children and the children were kept on the property. “Parents were deceived because they said they were not there,” Trails Carolina said.
The cause of Mr. CJH’s death is still under investigation and whether there is any evidence of foul play.
