A North Carolina boy may have suffocated to death inside a tent at a naturopathic camp for troubled youth after staff failed to check on him, according to a state report released Tuesday. It is said to be expensive.
Staff at Trails Carolina, located in Lake Toxaway in the western part of the state, told North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) officials that a 12-year-old boy was found dead after visiting the trail on February 3. said. A defect report and remediation plan from the North Carolina Department of Health Care Regulation states that he likely died of suffocation while camping for less than a day.
When asked, one staff member answered, “Yes.”[D]Do you think he was suffocated?” the 88-page report states.
The boy was told to sleep in a bivy, a small one-person tent inside the camp hut. The bivy’s zipper appeared to have broken, and staff instead used zip ties to enclose the tent, the report said.
A former staff member at a North Carolina therapeutic camp says, “Problem children and inexperienced staff are a “leather combination””
Over the weekend, a 12-year-old boy died at a North Carolina wilderness camp just one day after checking into the controversial facility. (Trails Carolina)
Officials told DHHS they believed “he and the camp were responsible” for the boy’s death. And when asked what they could have done differently, the staff member said: [the boy’s tent] I stood up and changed my position. ”
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Staff were supposed to check on campers at midnight, 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Around 3 a.m. on February 3, another staff member heard heavy breathing and “murmuring” sounds coming from the bivy. He said he did nothing. She checked on Bibby again around 6 a.m. and said she could “certainly” hear breathing sounds, but the boy was “no longer breathing heavily.”
Later that morning, the boy was found unresponsive inside the nesting area. According to the report, law enforcement was dispatched to the camp at 8:28 a.m. that morning.
Transylvania County Sheriff Chuck Owenby announced on Wednesday, February 7, details about the death of a young boy at a camp in western North Carolina over the weekend, including that the camp where the death occurred was not fully cooperative with the investigation. announced. (Trails Carolina)
“My actions that night were to conduct a night inspection…that was my responsibility and I failed to do so,” the employee told officials, adding, “I feel like Bibby had a lot to do with it. I will,” he added. There is always a risk of suffocation if the equipment is used incorrectly. ”
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Trails Carolina routinely had new campers sleep in bivvies with alarms attached to the zipper when they first arrived at camp until it was deemed safe enough to sleep outside the bivvy. However, the camp’s executive director was not aware of this practice, the report states.
The camp describes itself on its website as a “natural therapy program that supports teens and youth, ages 10 to 17, suffering from mental health issues.”
Trails Carolina told Fox News Digital, “DHHS’ deficiencies report is inaccurate and misleading in many ways, and we continue to work with state officials to clarify and correct where needed.” ” said in a statement.
“In fact, just yesterday, April 23, 2024, we met face-to-face with DHHS officials to explain basic camp terminology and systems that even they admitted they had not previously understood. “We’re working hard,” Camp said. “Most importantly, the cause of death has not yet been released by the medical examiner, and until then, statements made by anyone other than those with authority and direct access to the autopsy details are mere speculation. ”
The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy told investigators that the 12-year-old boy’s death did not appear to be natural, but the cause and manner of death have not yet been determined. (Trails Carolina)
Autopsy results for the 12-year-old boy are not yet available, but Trails Carolina previously said his death appeared to be an accident.
New enrollment suspended at Trails Carolina Therapy Camp amid investigation into 12-year-old boy’s death
The state suspended admissions to the camp earlier this year, and children who had been staying at the camp in February were removed. In March, NCDHHS officials notified the camp that the state planned to revoke its license for violating state health regulations.
A former Trails Carolina employee who previously spoke to FOX News Digital on condition of anonymity said the camp’s website, which featured photos of children fishing, was “false advertising.”
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“These kids aren’t fishing because they’re worried they’re going to use their rods as weapons and kill people. You see them in canoes, and that’s false advertising.” a former staff member claimed. “Those kids aren’t in the canoe because they might go out on the lake and try to kill themselves. go hiking in the mountains Because I’m afraid they’re going to push someone off a cliff. ”
FOX News’ Stephanie Price contributed to this report.
