WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (TCN) — A 12-year-old boy found dead a day after being sent to an outdoor camp for “problem youth” was found dead from a homicide, an autopsy report has concluded.
According to the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, on February 2, two men transported the boy from New York to Trails Carolina Camp, a “therapeutic camp” in Lake Toxoway, North Carolina. Upon arrival, he was placed in a room with other teenagers and four adult staff members.
The next morning, someone in Trails Carolina called 911 to report that a 12-year-old boy was not breathing. The sheriff’s office said a Trails Carolina officer attempted CPR on the victim. Paramedics began CPR and other life-support measures, but stopped because “the child appeared to have been dead for some time.” Deputies contacted investigators to come to the scene to collect evidence.
A forensic pathologist who performed a preliminary autopsy on Feb. 6 said the boy’s death “appeared to be unnatural,” but the cause and manner of death have not yet been determined. Investigators obtained warrants to search two other camp sites, including an area where staff sent other children after the boy’s death. The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office said Trails Carolina “has not been fully cooperative with the investigation.”
Trails Carolina closed on February 16, all youth were removed from the area and admission was suspended. The sheriff's office said the decision to close was “a step we had to take to ensure the health and safety of our children.”
An autopsy report released by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center explains how the boy was found dead less than 24 hours after arrival. The victim reportedly suffered from anxiety, ADHD, migraines and other behavioral issues and was sent to Trails Carolina.
Per camp protocol, the victim slept in a bivy, a “small camping enclosure” equipped with a sleeping bag and mat. The baboon was placed on a plastic sheet “with the sides folded in the shape of a canoe.” If he tries to get out of the bivy, the attached alarm will sound. The internal mesh door was torn, so a weather-resistant outer shell was used to close the bivy and lock it with an alarm, according to the report.
According to the autopsy report, the boy fell asleep “unharmed” but at 11 p.m. “was observed moving around and making noise in the crib.” Staff took him outside, where he fell asleep again. He was returned to the crib, where staff locked the alarm. Counselor noted movement about an hour after he was brought in, but there was no activity since then.
The mesh layer was torn and the outer layer of the bib was closed, so staff couldn't see him during routine checks. When the counselors tried to wake him in the morning and he didn't respond, they opened the bib and found him “with his head at the closed end of the bib and his feet near the opening.”
Rigor mortis began when Trails Carolina members discovered him.
The report said “commercially available BB products have a general warning that “the external weatherproof opening should not be fully sealed” as this can lead to condensation and restricted breathing.
The pathologist determined that the boy died of asphyxiation because his mouth and nose were covered with an undetectable substance. The report said it was unclear whether fever played a role, as “he was partially undressed and the way his sleeping quarters were constructed may have elevated the ambient temperature.”
According to the report, the victim “was placed in this hazardous sleeping space by others and was not reasonably capable of escaping from it given the presence of an alarm device securing the door.”
According to the Associated Press, Trails Carolina released a statement after the boy's death saying, “Everything points to an accidental death. We mourn with the family of our tragically lost student and are committed to doing everything we can to determine what happened.”
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