Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > News Items
Boy dies at Sagewalk
Anonymous:
http://www.kptv.com/news/20676299/detail.html
REDMOND, Ore. -- A 16-year-old boy died Friday at SageWalk Wilderness Camp in northern Lake County, sheriff's deputies said.
Authorities responded at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 28 to a report of a dead male at the camp, said Deputy Lake County Sheriff Chuck Poré in a news release.
The Portland teen was declared dead at the scene. He had been hiking with counselors and campers, according to Poré.
The day before, the teen attended the camp for troubled teenagers and passed a sports physical.
Inculcated:
Teen dies on Redmond wilderness school hike-From KTVZ.COM news sources
http://www.ktvz.com/global/story.asp?s= ... =Printable
SageWalk Website assures parents of prospective participants that student safety is top concern
Autopsy performed, but cause of death east of Bend not yet revealed
A 16-year-old Portland youth collapsed and died on a hike with Redmond-based SageWalk Wilderness School, about 70 miles southeast of Bend, Lake County authorities said Tuesday.
Lake County Deputy Sheriff Chuck Pore' identified the teen who died Friday afternoon as Sergey Blaschishen, but told NewsChannel 21 he had yet to receive the medical examiner's findings on an autopsy performed Sunday in Lakeview, regarding the cause of death or other details.
Pore' labeled as "procedural" a suspension of the school's (http://www.sagewalk.com) BLM permit to operate on public lands.
But he confirmed that Blashishen had reported feeling ill and collapsed a short time later.
The teen's mother, Lyudmilla Blashchishena, told The Oregonian she was told her son vomited, then passed out during the hike. She said he did not suffer from any medical conditions.
She said her son dropped out of Parkrose High School last year and had worked construction and lived with an uncle before asking to be palced in the SageWalk program. "He asked me to place him in the boot camp," she told the newspaper. "He really wanted to change his behavior.
Here is the complete news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office and a statement issued by SageWalk's executive director.
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MEDIA RELEASE
LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF INVESTIGATION 090529
At about 2:30pm on Friday, August 28th, 2009, members of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, and Law Enforcement of the Bureau of Land Management responded to a report of the death of a juvenile male at a wilderness camp in northern Lake County. According to the initial information given to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was attending the Sage Walk Wilderness Camp. The juvenile had been received at the Sage Walk camp facility the day before, after having passed a sports physical. At the time of the incident, the youth had been participating in a hike which is a part of the behavioral program of the wilderness camp.
The initial report received by the Sheriff's Office was of a sick male, followed by information that CPR was in progress. Air Link air ambulance was requested by Deschutes County Sheriff out of Bend. CPR continued for approximately 45 minutes until the air ambulance arrived. Subsequently, the 16 year old male from Portland was declared dead at the scene.
Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the northern part of Lake County, Deschutes County Sheriff responded and secured the scene until Lake County law enforcement arrived.
Deputies interviewed camp counselors and other juveniles that had been on the hike. An autopsy was performed on the youth on Sunday, August 30th.
Pending the results of the Sheriff's investigation, the Bureau of Land Management has suspended the permit for the wilderness camp to operate on BLM Land.
Chuck Poré, Deputy Sheriff
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Statement from SageWalk:
SageWalk Wilderness School is saddened to confirm the unfortunate death of one of our students on Friday, August 28th. At this time, the exact details of the incident are still being determined. We do know that our EMT-trained staff worked tirelessly with the student until the AirLink emergency helicopter arrived on the scene, at which time the student's care was turned over to the AirLink medics. SageWalk considers student safety our number one priority and takes this incident very seriously. Over the course of our 12 year history, our program has adhered to the highest standards of care and we currently meet or exceed all industry and state standards. We were the first wilderness program to be individually accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, and we are licensed by the State of Oregon to work with students who are experiencing issues with substance abuse and are also licensed by the State of Oregon as both an Outdoor Youth Program and Private School.
Due to the limited information available, HIPAA regulations, and out of respect for the student's family, this is all we are able to communicate at this time.
CONTACT:
Mike Bednarz, MS, MBA
Executive Director
SageWalk Wilderness School
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The state Legislature passed a new law governing wilderness schools after the September 2000 death of a 15-year-old student with Bend-based Obsidian Trails, which later closed.
William "Eddie" Lee of Scappoose died after an instructor held him face-down on the ground as punishment for an emotional outburst during a hike east of Burns.
Early this year, the Government Accountability Office listed 10 examples of youths who died at wilderness schools, and thousands of reports of abuse, as Congress considered legislation to require federal oversight for outdoor therapy programs.
At that time, a spokeswoman for SageWalk's parent company, Aspen Education Group, told The Bulletin that the bill went too far, and that schools already licensed by states and accredited by reputable groups should be exempt from federal regulations.
Anonymous:
Teen Death Investigation
09/01/09
At about 2:30pm on Friday, August 28th, 2009, members of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, and Law Enforcement of the Bureau of Land Management responded to a report of the death of a juvenile male at a wilderness camp in northern Lake County. According to the initial information given to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was attending the Sage Walk Wilderness Camp. The juvenile had been received at the Sage Walk camp facility the day before, after having passed a sports physical. At the time of the incident, the youth had been participating in a hike which is a part of the behavioral program of the wilderness camp.
The initial report received by the Sheriff's Office was of a sick male, followed by information that CPR was in progress. Air Link air ambulance was requested by Deschutes County Sheriff out of Bend. CPR continued for approximately 45 minutes until the air ambulance arrived. Subsequently, the 16 year old male from Portland was declared dead at the scene.
Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the northern part of Lake County, Deschutes County Sheriff responded and secured the scene until Lake County law enforcement arrived.
Deputies interviewed camp counselors and other juveniles that had been on the hike. An autopsy was performed on the youth on Sunday, August 30th.
Pending the results of the Sheriff's investigation, the Bureau of Land Management has suspended the permit for the wilderness camp to operate on BLM Land.
http://kohd.com/news/local/139779
Anonymous:
Portland teen collapses and dies during wilderness camp hike
by Stephen Beaven, The Oregonian
Tuesday September 01, 2009, 2:44 PM
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a Portland teen who collapsed during a hike as part of a wilderness camp exercise, a spokesman said today.
Sergey Blashchishen, 16, died Friday after collapsing about 2:30 p.m., said Deputy Chuck Pore. An autopsy was performed on Sunday but the results are incomplete and a cause of death has not been determined, Pore said.
Investigators are trying to find out if Blashchishen, who lived in Northeast Portland, had any medical problems that might have contributed to his death, Pore said. He had passed a physical the day before he died.
Blashchishen was attending the SageWalk wilderness school, a program for troubled teens based in Redmond. He was hiking with a group in northern Lake County between Burns and Bend when he got sick.
"He said he didn't feel good and shortly after that collapsed," Pore said.
The Bureau of Land Management has suspended the permit for SageWalk to operate on BLM land, pending the outcome of the investigation. It could not be confirmed if Blashchishen was on BLM property when he collapsed.
"SageWalk considers student safety our number one priority and takes this incident very seriously," SageWalk Executive Director Mike Bednarz said in a statement.
Lyudmila Blashchishena, Sergey's mother, said she was told that her son vomited and then passed out during the hike, adding that he did not suffer from any medical conditions.
"We are still so shocked," she said. "He always did sports, never had any disease. How could he pass away just from hiking?"
Blashchishen dropped out of Parkrose High School last year, his mother said, and enrolled in the wilderness school on Thursday.
He had worked construction and lived with an uncle before deciding to go to SageWalk.
"He asked me to place him in the boot camp," his mother said. "He really wanted to change his behavior."
--Stephen Beaven; http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ss ... nd_di.html
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Comments:
Posted by kimkatmeg on 09/01/09 at 3:42PM
NATURE WALK? Are you kidding? Wilderness therapy throws in a tough survivalist approach to aberrant teens, in an attempt to force them to understand the connection between actions and consequences. Months of forced survival living in the Oregon desert in winter are not unusual as the core of the schools' techniques for teens.
These types of programs need to be SHUT DOWN! I attended a few as a teen because my mother labeled me as "at risk youth" and I had excellent health insurance that paid these companies to tell my mother that I was being fixed. Each one I've been to has been shut down because of issues related to teens being killed or seriously injured. Both indoor and outdoor facilities.
The one I went to was called Obsidian Trails, it was shut down for suffocating a 15 year old who was acting out. http://www.nospank.net/n-g81.htm[/list]
Posted by blueskypdx on 09/01/09 at 3:51PM
Here's a clue teens: Stay in school, grow up, don't act like a criminal and drop the attitudes! That keeps you out of programs like this. Simple solution. No discussion about it, just do it.Posted by washcomom on 09/01/09 at 4:05PM
Sounds like it was a "hell" hike instead of a walk in the park. Even if he did play sports in school, he dropped out a year ago. What exercise has he been doing since? He was in bad shape or form to be hiking with such exertion with a loaded pack. When one goes on strenuous hikes like this one, there is a preparation period before-hand. Even for those that do this all the time.
I agree with blueskypdx to the teens - Get real, do your best, and don't act like a know-it-all. Because - you don't.Posted by DudeInNEP on 09/01/09 at 4:20PM
Thanks Dad, I'm sure the youth with just soak up your advice.Posted by boringlarry on 09/01/09 at 4:43PM
...um, where in this article did it say anything about loaded packs?...whether he wore one or not, when commenting on something, i would think it prudent to stick to the facts presented, unless there's another source you can quote...
With that said, ...get real kids, the world doesn't revolve around you...if more teens actually had to work hard to keep themselves alive, there wouldn't be time to make trouble....Posted by HML770 on 09/01/09 at 4:53PM
In '75, when I was 17, I was in a group similar to this. We had to march across rural areas of southern California carrying loads up to 195 lbs (regardless of the size of the person), in temps up to 105 degrees.
We went cross-country over mountain ranges up to 5500-6000 ft, sometimes, for weeks on end. We slept in the open, the gear we were given was out of date, and very worn. Every tent we had leaked. When it rained we shivered, when the sun beat down we baked.
We carried very little water with us, and the canned food was just plain awful. If you fell out of a march you were subjected to harsh physical punishment, extra duty, and limitation of the few privileges you were granted. I stayed with the group for two years, and loved every minute of it.
It was called the "7th Marine Infantry Regiment, 1st Marine Division."Posted by npdxretro on 09/01/09 at 6:23PM
Classic dehydration, most likely the signs were ignored, the tough love thing. Look at the history of these "schools" and you'll see they are rife with abusive behavior. And HML, most of these kids wouldn't pass the physical for MIL service, and were built up at basic.......big difference, although I get your point.Posted by bendguy123 on 09/01/09 at 9:43PM
Sagewalk is a well managed and structured program. The risk assessment and planning that goes into any new enrollment is intense. Kids are not just thrown into the woods and expected to perform all tasks on their first day. Passing a physical and abilities test is standard. Until more is know it is not wise to jump to conclusions.
KIMKAT: your experience at Obsidian Trails was most likely tough, the death was an instructor mistake and a terrible event. It is true that power and control are sometimes factors, and that was most likely a huge factor in the program closing down.
Sagewalk is not a "fly by night" operation. I have spent many years as an instructor for other similar programs around the country and can not imagine enduring an ordeal like this. My heart goes out to the family, staff, students, and all other students at programs right now.
The bottom line is that most of these kids are not well managed at home and need an intense intervention of sorts, woods/school/etc.. Sending your kids to a program is tough and blaming the family for the end result is dangerous.
Oscar:
Wiki Sagewalk datasheet and victim page are updated
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