The body of a 12-year-old boy who died at a controversial North Carolina therapy camp was found naked below the waist and foaming at the mouth – just hours after a counselor saw him having a panic attack, a search warrant revealed.
The pre-teen – identified only as white male “CJH” in documents – had arrived at Trails Carolina Camp on Lake Toxaway from New York less than 24 hours before he died.
When the boy died, and what caused his death remains unclear, but a forensic pathologist previously said it “appeared to be unnatural.”
Camp staff told police that CJH had been “loud and angry” when he arrived at Trails Carolina, and refused dinner after he was brought to the property on Friday, Feb. 3.
The boy calmed down later in the evening and eventually ate some snacks provided by counselors, but he again became restless around midnight after he was put in a cabin, where he was ordered to sleep on the floor, according to camp protocol. Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office Warrant.
CJH was given a sleeping bag that was inside a small tent called a bivy bag, which was equipped with an alarm that would go off if he tried to leave at any time during the night.
The 12-year-old boy was found naked below the waist and foaming at the mouth. Facebook / Trails Carolina
Two counselors “stood along the wall” of the cabin while CJH suffered a midnight panic attack, though it’s unclear if they offered any help other than opening the bivvy to check on the boy.
One of the two counselors interviewed by police “did not mention whether he or the other counselors tried to help CJH with ‘any relief during his anxiety attacks,'” the warrant states.
Counselors checked on CJH at midnight, 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., they claim, finally finding the boy dead — “cold to the touch and stiff” — at 7:45 a.m.
According to the warrant, the counselor stood along the wall and saw the boy having a panic attack. via InsideEdition
Panic attacks do not cause death, according to studies, but they can lead to other long-term health complications.
Police, who previously said it was clear the pre-teen had been dead for some time, found the boy in Rigor Mortis lying with his hands on his chest and his knees bent toward the ceiling.
He was wearing a sweatshirt, but was naked from the waist down — his pants and underwear were found on the ground next to his right shoulder.
“During the interview, camp counselors were asked how his pants could be in this position and they had no idea,” the document states.
CJH showed small bruises on her lips and in and around her eyes, as well as veins extending down her neck. He was also foaming at the mouth, “which may indicate that he ingested some kind of poison.”
Camp staff allegedly prevented investigators from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Social Services from interviewing other juveniles in the cabin by moving them to another location 30 miles away.
The self-described “wilderness camp for troubled youth” blasted the sheriff’s office’s assessment in a statement Monday, saying the warrant contained “misleading statements.”
While saying it would not discuss some details “out of respect for the family and the investigation,” the camp disputed that it had “refused” to allow other juveniles to speak to investigators.
Police did not release the boy’s identity, but described him as a white male from New York. Facebook / Trails Carolina
“Trails seeks parental permission for any involved child to speak with law enforcement and state regulatory agencies, and we abide by each parent’s preferences, as we must,” the statement said.
“The children were moved from the area to protect them from seeing what happened, not to avoid the investigators. We are a mental health facility that treats children with severe and complex mental health diagnoses. Not evacuating children from the area will affect their mental well-being.”
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Trails Carolina reiterated its initial claim of innocence and that the preliminary investigation did not indicate criminal conduct.
Police last week called the boy’s death “suspicious,” but autopsy results are pending.
Trails Carolina, located about 35 miles southwest of Asheville, describes itself as a nature-based therapy program that helps children ages 10 to 17 “work through behavioral or emotional problems, build trusting relationships with family and their peers and achieve academic success.”
The program costs up to $715 per day, depending on the age of the student.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
