Death at Skyline Journey 13 July 2002

[Anonymous]

Greetings,
Someone asked for thoughts regarding the deaths at Utah Wilderness programs recently, specifically Skyline Journey.
Below is a message I intended to post at Struggling Teens, but decided against.  I imagine that it would not be well received, as I did not have direct, personal experience with the program, which is their criteria for accepting any negative comments.
It is based on a more detailed summary that I am compiling and will post upon completion.
Deborah

Ian August was my neighbor and son of a friend of mine, so I am intimately involved and have followed this story very carefully. I do find merit in parents having access to ALL the articles printed in the Salt Lake Tribune. They were posted at Struggling Teens until the links no longer worked, then disappeared.

Currently a parent would have to know those articles exist at SLT to access them. They no longer appear in searches on the web. This is unfortunate. I have them in word files if anyone is interested to read
them.

The only remaining link at Struggling Teens is to the press release posted by Skyline. In that release, Ken Stettler (Utah Dir of Licensing)states that Skyline was in compliance with regulations. If that is the only report parents have access to they would not know that indeed Skyline was in violation of atleast two regulations that day, which were "overlooked" by Stettler.

Utah regs require that the entire group stop hiking if one participant can't continue. Ian's group continued when he refused to go further. Stettler ruled that Skyline was not in violation in that situation because Ian wasn't required to continue. That is not congruent with the law. There must be a good reason for having that rule in place. If it was important enough to make, it's important enough to follow and enforce.

Utah regs also state that a Wilderness program can be shutdown permenantly for just one violation, due to the difficulty of monitoring these types of programs.

Another violation that was never addressed in ANY article: It was reported that Ian's group continued and returned later.  This violated regs by throwing off the staff to hiker ratio. One staff continued with five hikers.

Stettler has publicly admitted that the state is not proactionary, but reactionary. He also confessed that resources were short and his office rarely had time to even make it around for the annual inspections.

After the death of Aaron Bacon at North Star Stettler testified that, ?although he found violations after Bacon?s death, he gave North Star a clean bill of health and allowed it to remain in operation.? He trusted his fellow mormon saints to clean up the violations. Both owners later pled guilty to Neglegent Homicide. The court document painfully reveals the character of these two individuals (no credentials or previous experience with youth) and the
nighmare that Bacon endured.

Stettler discovered that staffers had allowed Bacon to go without the state-required minimum of 1,800 calories per day and to be without proper sleeping gear (when low temps were in the 20-30s) as punishment for dropping his pack on the trail.  Bacon ?knew the consequences of abandoning his supply-laden backpack.?
Utah law forbids programs to deny food and proper bedding as punishment. Both were repeatedly witheld from Bacon.

Regarding the Salt Lake Tribune articles on Ian August: Stettler stated in the first article that the teens were hiking at 8,000 ft and the temperature was below 95* (state law). He knew this to be true "because
the counselors carry thermometers."

Every subsequent article stated a different altitude and temperature. In Skyline's Press Release posted here, Wardle (Dir of Skyline) reports that the group was at 6,800 ft and the temp at the time of the incident was 90*. Yet, in a SLT article the counselors "who had thermometers" reported that it was 90* when they began at 8:30.

It was 101* in Delta at 1:37 when the emergency call was placed, while the others were still out hiking. In a later article, Stettler changed the altitude to 7,000 ft. A subsequent article stated that the elevation in Marjum Pass is 6,400 ft.   Skeptical? Yes, I still question the altitude and temperature that day, it was the hottest day of the year, 111 in places. The high in Delta- 107*.

I also do not feel Stettler did his job by relying on information from the counselors. He should have relied on a third party investigation and analysis. Two days later
the Dept of Human Services recorded a temp of 95* at 1:30 at the location. It was about 10 degrees cooler that day. The high in Delta- 98.1*.

The Press Release reports that deputies confirmed the temp was less than 90* during the hike, after contacting the US Meteorological Service which stated that the temp at 11:30 that morning at the altitude the group was would have been 85-86*.   Which altitude was provided? 8,000-7,000-6,800- 6,400? Whatever the true altitude, it was impossible that the temp "during the hike" was 85-86*, if the counselor's report has any merit. And it certainly appeared to in Stettler's first report. He made a public statement to a newspaper based on it.

There are also discrepencies in the reports regarding what was done for Ian. Officals reported that he sat down, was provided shade by a tarp, began moaning about 1:30 and tipped backward, no pulse, help was
summoned. Later Wardle reports that Ian "sat under a tree for 2 hours, then collapsed. Later, counselors reported that Ian "began to moan and was breathing heavily, sweating excessively and lying on his back. When
August became unconscious, counselors moved him to a sitting position in the shade of a tree." After no response, CPR was started. And the last report, "he sat down, the staff moved him into the shade and sat with him until he lost consciousness." That was 2 hours.

The staff that stayed with Ian was an EMT which should know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and what to do- move to a cool place, elevate feet, encourage water, cool body with water and fanning. S/he "sat him up under a tree and sat with him until he became unconscious"??

It was also reported that Ian told counselors he was thirsty and was "given water". I would like to know if the teens are in possession of and control of their water source. All advice recommends a steady
supply of water, it's too late if you have waited until you are thirsty.

There is yet another concern regarding why it took emergency crews 2.5 hours to get to Ian. Wardle and the sheriff gave conflicting accounts regarding the distance and conditions of the roads. Wardle stating it
was a 40 min drive from Delta. The sheriff responded that it was 70 miles from Delta, 25-30 of those miles on a gravel then two-wheel-track kind of road, and finally a hike of one to two miles. The helpicpoter
couldn't land because it was too hot- decreased air density. Rough terrain was another concern.

Regarding Ian's physical condition: He was not overweight. As one article bluntly put it, at 5'3" and 200+ pounds, he was morbidly obese.  My rememberence of him was that of a couch potato. Common sense should tell one that it's not wise for an overweight individual to go from 500 ft to 6-7,000 ft to hike for extended periods of time, without significant preparation and conditioning. Anyone aware of what professional hikers do before such a trek? As one of the articles boldly questioned, "Where is the common sense in this?"

I feel every parent should know about all deaths and accidents at programs and have access to ALL reports so as to analyse the details for themselves.

Skyline appears to be one of the better programs based on their literature.  Discrepencies in their reporting and the level of damage control they employed caused me to be highly suspicious.  If they  violated a regulation, they should have been sited and penalized. If there were multiple violations, they should have been closed. That would have generouse given the law. And parents should know that the violations that day were overlooked by the State Licensing Dirctor...and this was not the first time he has done so.

Are teens safe in Utah?

[Deborah]

Surprising Hike   ... 07/31/2002
The Salt Lake Tribune
Date: 07/31/2002    Edition: Final    Section: Opinion    Page: A14
Keywords: Public Forum Letter
 
 
Surprising Hike  
 
   The idea of sending troubled teens to an outdoor wilderness program instead of an institution is an excellent one. However, after reading about Ian August's untimely death, I ask, who is supervising the supervisors? Are state authorities effectively monitoring the methods of these programs?
   As a social worker and experienced hiker I was stunned that licensed staff would send a 5-foot-3-inch, 200-pound boy on a three-mile hike in 95-100 degree temperatures. August had been in the program only nine days which is insufficient time to condition for such extreme physical activity.
   Mark Wardle blames the emergency medical technicians' slow response for Ian August's death and claims his staff "are not a bunch of idiots abusing kids."
 They may not have been a bunch of idiots, but did they realize how dangerous the situation was? Although emergency personnel should have been there sooner, Wardle needs to take responsibility for his and his staff's mistakes.

ANNE F. GOLDBERG
   Salt Lake City

[Deborah]

http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=945&go=4

17 July 2002

TIME TO STOP TORTURING KIDS IN THE WILDERNESS

It was hot in Utah last Saturday. Record-breaking hot.

In Salt Lake it got to 107. Down by Delta it got to 110.

Which was too much for Ian August.

He was 14.

He was 14 and apparently there were some troubles at home. Maybe he was misbehaving, maybe he wasn't living up to his parents' expectations. Who knows. But he got sent off to something called "wilderness therapy." Some kind of boot camp in the desert where tough love takes the form of a forced march, where struggling to survive in the mountains is somehow supposed to put a kid on the right track.

Sounds like idiocy to me.

And Ian August's parents fell for it. So he got shipped off to something called Skyline Journey and within the week he was dead.

It was some kind of "wilderness-therapy hike," a march into the badlands. On a day when all-time highs were forecast. In a place called the Sevier Desert.

That's where fate and the numbskulls at Skyline Journey come in.

They pushed 14-year-old Ian August where common sense said no one should go. Under conditions that would sideline most military maneuvers for safety reasons, on a day the TV meteorologists were warning people to stay inside, some kid was put on the trail.

Did I mention he was 5-foot-3? And 200 pounds?

That makes him short and fat. That makes him more susceptible to heat stroke.

And did I tell you he was from Austin, Texas?

Which is 501 feet above sea level. Which is relevant because the desert in which he died is 7,000 feet above sea level. Way up where the air is thin and where even people in the best of shape who have not yet acclimated can huff and puff at the slightest exertion.

And speaking of acclimation, Ian August had been in Utah for less than a week.

So that's the situation. Record heat, a little fat kid, high elevation. And a rugged overland hike.

And he started falling behind. Who knows how these "tough love" people handle that. But he fell behind and after two miles he said he was thirsty. Record heat in the desert and the 14-year-old cast out into the wilderness is thirsty. Then he says he's dizzy.

Two classic signs of heat injury. Of potentially serious heat injury.

You're probably wondering: Where was the law? Well, in Utah they allow and even license such stupidity as this. And though only meagerly regulated, quackery like this Skyline Journey is not allowed to put kids out under stressful conditions when the temperature goes over 95.

But the law only helps when it's obeyed.

And forecasts of above-100 apparently didn't matter to the brain cramps at Skyline Journey.

Ian August said he was thirsty and dizzy and he sat down. And then he just went over backwards. Five-foot-three, two hundred pounds, new to the mountain elevation, unaccustomed to the desert, sent off by his family to get "straightened out."

And he was dead.

It was a minute or two after 1:30 in the afternoon. In Delta, the nearest town, it was 101 degrees. Six degrees over the legal limit.

And the fanny covering began in dead earnest. First word was leaked out that he must have had a heart problem. It wasn't us, it was him. He would have been fine, but must be he had a defect or something. It was his heart.

Only it wasn't. It was the heat. That's what the coroner said. The heat killed him.

So the Skyline Journey people came up with another excuse. This time they blamed the EMTs. It wasn't the program's fault, it was the two-hours it took emergency medics to get to the scene.

Forget the fact he was dead before 911 was even called.

And about those two hours. These Skyline Journey people had this poor boy so far out in the wilderness he was 70 miles from the nearest ambulance. Yet it sped to be of assistance. Of course, after the pavement ended there were 30 miles of dirt road, then there was a long stretch of four-wheeler trail, then the medics had to load their gear onto their backs and hike more than two miles to where Ian August lay dead.

All things considered, getting there in two hours is almost a miracle.

Yet still the Skyline Journey people blame the medics.

Which is too bad.

But what's worse is that ridiculolus cons like this are even allowed. The notion of sending troubled teens off to wilderness reform schools, typically staffed by people of little if any significant skill, is immoral and ought to be criminal. If parents send their children to programs like this, it's no wonder their kids are screwed up -- with parents that stupid, it's only natural.

Parents and families raise children, even troubled children. Programs don't. These barbaric tortures are nothing more than a way for failed upper-income parents to pretend their money can buy them happy children. In a society that thinks writing a check fixes everything, this is parenting for people too lazy or uncaring to do it themselves.

The Utah attorney general needs to look into the death of Ian August. Someone must be held responsible for this boy's cruel death.

And the Utah governor and state legislature must explain how such barbarism can exist in their state.

This death must be avenged, and this practice must be wiped out.

There is no such thing as "wilderness therapy," except as a money-grubbing scam. These cruel and hurtful ripoffs must be shut down.


- by Bob Lonsberry © 2002

[Deborah]

September 21, 2002
The New York Times

Outdoor Therapy Camp Workers Charged in Hiking Death of Boy
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

DENVER, Sept. 20 ? Two employees of a wilderness therapy camp in central
Utah have been charged with child-abuse homicide in the death of a 14-year-old boy two months ago on a desert hike.

The boy, Ian August of Austin, Tex., was the fifth child to die since 1999 while in the care of such a camp in Utah, a state with some of the most stringent regulations for summer programs for children with
psychological, drug or alcohol problems.

Brent G. Berkley, the deputy county attorney in Millard County, Utah, brought charges against Mark Wardle, 47, and Leigh Hale, 24, and the camp that employed them, Skyline Journey of Nephi, after the boy collapsed and died of heat exhaustion in their care.

Mr. Berkley said Ian, at 5-foot-2 and 200 pounds, was in "very poor physical condition" when he entered the program and was ill-equipped for a long desert hike in midday summer heat.

On the hike, Mr. Berkley said, Ian complained of thirst and stopped walking. He was given water, but fell unconscious, prompting Mr. Wardle to call 911 on his cellphone. Because of the remote location of the hike, about 40 miles west of Delta, Utah, and wrong information given to a rescue team, an ambulance did not arrive for two hours.

By then the boy was dead.

Mr. Berkley said that Ms. Hale was a licensed emergency medical technician but that she either did not recognize signs of stress or ignored them.

"It is our intent to show there was a reckless disregard for his symptoms and signs of trouble," he said.

Each worker faces 1 to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. The company faces a fine of $25,000.

Lee Wardle, the majority owner of Skyline Journey and Mark Wardle's father, declined to discuss the case on the advice of his lawyer. He said the company had been operating for two years, offering "therapy and emotional growth" to troubled teenagers, who generally participate in groups of nine.

Though the outdoor therapy camps have gained in popularity in the last two decades as options for frustrated parents, the camps have come under a cloud for the deaths of nearly three dozen youngsters since 1980.

[Deborah]

HALLELUJAH !!!!
I'm so pleased, and hope the appeal is denied.  One down, "too many" to go !!!
Deborah

Oct 13, 12:21 AM (ET)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/200210 ... F9NO0.html

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The state will revoke the license of a wilderness
program for troubled teens after two employees were charged with
child-abuse homicide in the July 13 heat exhaustion death of a
14-year-old boy.

Ian August collapsed while on a three-mile hike in sweltering heat in
central Utah. Skyline Journey director Mark Wardle and counselor Leigh
Hale were charged in his death.

The Utah Department of Human Services said Friday it would revoke the
program's license Oct. 25.

Lee Wardle, Mark Wardle's father and Skyline's CEO, said the program
would appeal, allowing it to operate until administrative hearings are
complete.

"The decision to revoke was based on a thorough review of our
investigation," Licensing Director Ken Stettler said. "We also used
supporting evidence from law enforcement and the medical examiner."
After hiking about three hours, August complained of thirst and refused
to continue. A counselor gave him water under a tarpaulin.
A couple hours later, while still resting, August began moaning and fell
backward. The counselor could not find a pulse, and the boy was dead by
the time emergency personnel arrived two hours later.
Five children, including August, have died during Utah wilderness
programs since the state began policing them in 1990. August's death
reopened a debate on whether the state's regulations are stringent
enough.

The programs aim to help troubled teens by teaching cooperation and
self-reliance in a wilderness setting.

[Deborah]

Ya think Stettler would have taken this action if charges hadn't been filed against Wardle and Hale?  I'm imagining not.
Wrongful Death?
Deborah

http://www.hs.utah.gov
Oct. 11, 2002 Ken Stettler, licensing (801) 538-4235
Carol Sisco (801) 538-3991

State Revokes Skyline Journey?s License
Skyline Journey?s state license will be revoked Oct. 25 by the Utah Human Services Office of Licensing. The outdoor program for troubled youth was notified today that it has 10 working days to appeal the action. If they appeal, the program will continue operating until administrative hearings are completed.

The revocation notice comes following an investigation of the July 13 death of 14-year-old Ian August. Licensing officials found four violations of their administrative rules:

? Hiking on July 13 exceeded the physical capability of Ian who was weaker than the other hikers.

? No evidence was found that Skyline conducted a proper admission screening in Ian?s case. The review should have included thorough consideration of his health history. Information provided to the program indicated that Ian had ?low heat tolerance? and was taking medication that could have been a factor in an exposure-related illness.

? A physical exam form Skyline gave Ian?s doctor violated licensing rules because it did not describe the physical demands of the program or the environment in which it was conducted.

? Program staff did not treat the effects of heat illness in a timely or reasonable manner. Ian was left sitting and laying in direct sunlight for up to an hour after he stopped hiking before staff moved him out of the sun and attempted to cool him with water.

?The decision to revoke was based on a thorough review of our investigation,? Licensing Director Ken Stettler said. ?We also used supporting evidence from law enforcement and the medical examiner.?
Ian?s death was the fifth one in a Utah wilderness program since 1990. Nine youth wilderness programs have state licenses.

###
UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN
SERVICES
NEWS RELEASE Contact

[Deborah]

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,12 ... 79,00.html

Millard pressing ahead with wilds-death case
      FILLMORE ? Millard County prosecutors say their child-abuse homicide case against two counselors and a wilderness therapy program shouldn't be affected by the state's revocation of the program's license.
      "I think we've got a strong case," Millard County deputy attorney Brent Berkley said. "If they hadn't revoked their license, I wouldn't feel differently about my case."
      Representatives of Skyline Journey; Mark Wardle, program coordinator; and Leigh Hale, program counselor and EMT, appeared in 4th District Court last week for an initial appearance before Judge Donald J. Eyre, who explained the charges to them.
      Each is charged with one count of child-abuse homicide, a second-degree felony, in the July 13 death of Ian August, 14, who died of hyperthermia while hiking with the counselors in a mountainous desert area 60 miles outside Delta. If convicted, the counselors face up to 15 years behind bars and the company faces a fine, Berkley said.
      The counselors have not been arrested. Instead prosecutors issued a summons for them to appear in court. "We didn't think there was any reason they wouldn't appear," Berkley said.
      A waiver hearing is scheduled Nov. 4 when the defense will determine whether it wants to waive the preliminary hearing.
      Last week the state Human Services' Office of Licensing revoked Skyline Journey's license. Officials said the program violated licensing rules in its treatment of August before and during the hike. Berkley said the state's licensing standards are different than those used in criminal law and therefore, the licensing findings won't necessarily boost his case.

[Deborah]

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jan/01072003/utah/18022.asp

Leigh Hale, with her attorney, Michael Esplin, appears at a preliminary hearing Monday. Hale was testifying in the heat exhaustion death of Ian

August at a wilderness therapy program. (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune)

BY KEVIN CANTERA
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

    FILLMORE -- When 14-year-old Ian August dropped to the ground during a scorching hike through Utah's west desert last summer, two of his wilderness therapy counselors thought he was faking, one of the counselors testified during a preliminary hearing Monday.

[Deb: I AM SO TIRED OF HEARING THIS FLIMSY EXCUSE, "WE THOUGHT HE WAS FAKING". EVERY "COUNSELOR" WHO HAS KILLED A TEEN HAS USED IT. THEY CALLED BACON A FAKER WHEN HE COULDN'T WALK AND FELL IN THE LATRINE, AND CONTINUED TO DO SO RIGHT UP UNTIL HE DIED. IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED AS AN EXCUSE TO TORTURE KIDS OR AS A DEFENSE IN THESE CASES, THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO ERR ON THE OTHER SIDE...WHAT IF THEY AREN'T FAKING??]

"I thought it might have been a show," Matt Gause said about August's collapse on the fatal July 13 hike, during which, prosecutors say, temperatures soared near 105. "There was nothing alarming about any of it."

But an autopsy later determined that August, of Austin, Texas, had died from hyperthermia -- or excessive body heat.

Following Monday's hearing before 4th District Judge Donald Eyre, the judge took under advisement whether to order Mark Wardle, Skyline

Journey's field director, to stand trial on a charge of child-abuse homicide.

Prosecutors charged 47-year-old Wardle with the second-degree felony last year, arguing he acted with criminal recklessness in failing to get help for August quickly enough to save him.

But defense attorneys contend it was less than 95 degrees outside, the point at which Utah law forbids such wilderness treks. If the case
proceeds to trial, gauging an exact temperature at the time that August died will be a central issue.

[DEB: ONE OF THE REPORTS STATED THAT THE COUNSELORS LOGGED 90* AT 8 OR 9AM WHEN THE HIKE BEGAN. I HOPE THAT INFORMATION DOESN'T GET CONCEALED. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE TEMP DID NOT EXCEED 95* BY 11:30? ON A DAY THE TEMPS HIT 111*.]

At the outset of Monday's hearing, Millard County prosecutor Brent Berkley dismissed a similar charge against co-defendant Leigh Hale, a head field instructor for Skyline. Hale agreed to testify against Wardle and her former employer in exchange for Monday's dismissal.

In her testimony, Hale called August "abnormally obese," adding that he was "sometimes difficult to get motivated."

August, who stood 5-foot-4 inches tall and weighed as much as 200 pounds, was sent to the program by his adoptive mother to help him deal
with his weight.

During the Skyline program -- in which troubled youths are expected to mend their ways via a dose of discipline and wilderness survival training -- a half-dozen teens set out at 9 a.m. to trek through the desert toward a trilobite quarry.

"Ian just sat down on his backpack and stopped hiking," Hale testified. "He came across as being a little bit defiant [and] I tried to convince him to keep hiking."

[DEB: IN AN EARLIER REPORT SHE SAID IAN COMPLAINED OF THIRST, IS HER MEMORY FAILING? IS HER ROLE THAT OF SLAVE DRIVER, OR CARETAKER OF TEENS? THESE INADEQUATE COUNSELORS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF DETERMINING IF SOMEONE IS FAKING, AND OBVIOUSLY NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY LIFE-THREATENING SITUATIONS. THAT THIS CAN CONTINUE,IS INSANE.]

She said it was 20 minutes before she called Wardle, and testified that she made no further attempt to determine August's body temperature
beyond touching his skin.

Hale said it was 45 minutes before she and Gause moved August from beneath the noonday sun into the shade of a juniper tree.

She and Gause performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 2 1/2 hours until emergency crews reached them, about 50 miles west of Delta
in Bird Canyon.

During cross examination by Wardle's attorney, Lance Thaxton, Hale said that just one day earlier August had a medical check from "the
nurse who used to check on the kids."

"With the circumstances I think we did a very good job," Hale testified during the 10-minute defense questioning.

[DEB: EXCUSE ME, IS THIS THE TESTIMONY THAT BARKLEY DISMISSED CHARGES AGAINST HALE FOR??? THIS IS BS, PATHETIC. I REALLY FEAR THIS WHOLE TRIAL COULD BE NOTHING MORE THAN A PUBLIC CHARADE.]

The Office of Licensing, an arm of the Department of Human Services, shut down the Skyline Journey program last year, but it continues to operate while the company appeals.

On Monday, the lone defense witness, Kelly Husbands, licensing specialist for the Division of Child and Family Services, said he found
Skyline had a single violation related to the death: failing to provide August's Texas doctor with an adequate description of the environment
and the program's physical demands. Husbands added that all the participants were given adequate food and water.

Attorneys for both sides are scheduled to provide written closing arguments by next Monday.
"We have to prove that a substantial danger existed and that [Skyline] was aware of it," said prosecutor Berkley. "It was more than an accident [but] we never have alleged they tried to kill this kid."

    [email protected]

[Leah]

With all due respect Deb ~ who the hell are you to judge what was and wasn't done for Ian on that day in July.  Were you there?  NO!  Who are you to judge those in authority of licensing in Utah?  Could you do better?  I'm sure you could NOT.  
What is your axe to grind with wilderness programs? What are your credentials that gives you the right to pass judgment?  Have you ever owned or operated a program?  Have you had a child enrolled at a program?  What gives???

[FaceKhan]

I always enjoy the way that program supporters ask for credentials from their critics since it is, among other things, the complete lack of staff credentials and training which makes such programs bogus as well as dangerous in the first place.

  It is clear that Skyline broke the rules and it is clear that the staff there have been trained to ignore inmate complaints. It is also clear that those violations of the rules and staff calousness resulted in Ian's death.  The solution is clear, charge the program, its operators and senior staff, and the staff that ignored the rules and Ian's complaints with negligent homocide. Call it a gift from generous lawmakers who are naive enough to believe that these programs honestly have the safety and well being of the kids at heart because if I were making the rules, the charge would be felony murder in furtherance of the crime of fraud.

[Leah]

Thank God you aren't the one to make all the decisions.  These programs Do work and Do make a difference!  
What evidence do you have that these staffers were not properly trained?  How do you know that, just possibly, August refused to drink his water?  If he was thirsty it was his fault as all students have water with them at all times. I know I called and asked. My son's life was saved by a program similar to Skyline Journey.  I actually looked into their program but felt they were to soft.
I wish Skyline Journey all the best.

[Deborah]

Leah, I have disclosed who I am and my connection to Ian. As you "judge" that Skyline did nothing wrong, I "judge" that they did and that Ian's death could have been prevented with Common Sense. My judgment is based on the numerous articles published, admissions from the "counselors" and the statement that was ultimately issued by the Licensing authority, AFTER charges were filed by the DA.



My "judgement of the licensing authority comes from the extensive research I have compiled on the history of deaths in Utah and the licensing director who has a long history of "overlooking" violations. I am absolutely positive I could do a better job than Stettler. Not a single doubt in my mind. He had already let Skyline off the hook for violations of regs that day, and I do not think he would've revoked their license if charges hadn't been filed by the DA. That action was to save face. How could he overlook blatant violations that were obvious to the DA? Wouldn't have looked good for him. Do you homework.



My "axe to grind with wilderness programs" is that too many teens have died unnecessarily, under the guise of therapy. I'm not opposed to wilderness excursions, there is much to be learned from nature. The slave driver mentality of these programs is what I oppose and think makes no sense whatsoever. They are so intent on "enforcing the march" they miss important and vital clues from the teens. And the ones "enforing the march" are often young adults who are inexperienced in working with teens. Again, do your homework. Read up on the unnecessary deaths of teens, particularly in Utah. Read the Utah regulations for wilderness programs. They are very lenient, and should be enforced to ensure safety. It says something about the Industry there, that the regs are so lenient, and still they can't/don't comply.  I have an extensive file and would be happy to forward it to you.



I do not believe Ian was in possession or control of his water supply. The counselor stated that he refused to walk, complained of thirst, and requested water. One doesn't usually have to "request" something they are in possession of.  And note this: because Skyline violated regulations and allowed the other teens to continue the march, there is no objective party to report what "really" happened, only the counselor's word. Everything I have read indicates that when one is hiking under those conditions it is imperative to drink frequently, it is too late if you wait until you're thirsty. Given that he might have been in possession of his water supply, a 14 year old doesn't know these things and is dependent on an adult to advise him/her under such austere conditions. You can bet that if I took my teens to Utah to hike in 100* weather at 8000 ft, I'd be reminding them every half-hour to drink water. That's MY responsiblity as the older, wiser, experienced adult. There is no way you will ever convince me that Ian was responsible for his own death. It's a waste of your time. I'm offended that you would imply that he might be.



Do a Google search for Aaron Bacon, another teen who died unnecessary in Utah because "they thought he was faking". Pay particularly close attention to the statements made by staff and the licensing director, Ken Stettler, in the court document that is returned in that search. Another case of "overlooked" violations. The simple truth is that kids are not safe at wilderness programs the way they are currently run and monitored.



My ability to perceive and discern right from wrong gives me the credential to pass judgment.



Yes, I have experience with Programs. My oldest spent 6 months in a Marine Military Academy. He was hazed by older cadets and abused by his drill officer daily. Came home with PTSD which I have dealt with for 5 years. He's finally recovering and he's 21. He lost five years of his life due to their ignorance and lack of care. Our lawsuit will settle this year. This program, like others told parents to ignore their child's complaints of the facility. Most did, until a young man had his throat slit in the middle of the night. I do not understand how a parent can be so blatantly ignorant when it comes to their offspring's well-being.



My youngest son attended a wilderness program as part of a 20 month Therapeutic Boarding School. His father thought he was making a better choice than he'd made with our older son because the word "Therapeutic" was stuck in there, and he paid a lot of money for the referal. BTW, the Ed Con never even saw my son, pretty easy and profitable business!! Further, she was unaware that she referred to an unlicensed program!!!



There wasn't a moment that passed that I didn't fear for his safety. Fortunately the worst thing that he experienced (that I'm aware of) was being left in the woods over night with no water, no flashlight, a black trash bag to lay on and his pancho to cover with. He apparently had a virus and was vomitting every 20 minutes or so and screaming for help. The leaders (ex-military) were all back at the base. But, what IF it had been  appendicitis or worse? He wouldn't be here to tell this story, and the program would most likely be off the hook because noone was there to monitor, to be responsible or accountable. It would have been catagorized as an unfortunate "accident" and I would've received one of those pathetic letters telling me how bad they feel about my loss and my son's misfortune. And what they would be sad about in reality is that this month's check won't be arriving.



And I will add that all my son "learned" at the TBS was how to manipulate ignorant people like yourself. Ironically, they profess to "treat" manipulation. He often tries that crap with me to which I reply, "hey this is your mother your talking to, no pretense" and we both laugh. He learned their "therapeutic" game very well, enough to survive the ordeal, but also lost two valuable years of his life because his step mother convinced his dad that we were both bad parents. Insanity at it's best. Justice for me would look like her spending 2 years of her life in a similar environment, unable to have contact with the outside world, all phone calls and letter monitored, limited calories for punishment, mind-f***** on a daily basis.



He came home from this $5000K/ month College Prep TBS, 5 credits behind his peers, his social skills were stunted, and he will forever resent his father. He is less confident which manifests as being less happy with life in general. It breaks my heart. I can only hope that eventually he will get back to being his old self, confident, athletic, outgoing. They did a number on his self-esteem and confidence.



If I owned or operated a program, it would be run very differently than anything I have seen to date. Anytime a minor is subjected to neglect and abuse in the name of therapy, something is very wrong. People who realize this take action to protect other kids whose parents are too desperate and/or ignorant to notice or care. It astounds me that you, and others like you can not discern the difference between abuse and therapy. Children have been removed from their parents for lessor offenses. I'll ask you, What gives, that these programs have carte blanc to abuse, because they present themselves to the world at-large as therapeutic?? That is the question we need to be focusing on, and it all leads to money and political power, licensing directors who don't do their jobs, and a society that generally fears and dislikes teens.



To put it in perspective...Pay me $5000. I'll take your 200+ pound, couch potato son from 500 ft to 8000 ft and march him until he drops. When he can no longer march and is complaining of thirst, I will leave him sitting in the direct sun. I won't err on the side of caution and take measures to treat him for heat exhaustion, even though he is sweating profusely and exhibiting over OBVIOUS signs of distress. I will chalk it up to "faking" a collapse. After an hour or so, I'll move him into the shade and prop him up against a tree and "sit with him" until he becomes unconscious. Hey, atleast he won't die alone. Oh, and I won't call for help until he's in cardiac arrest.



Think you might have an axe to grind with me? Think you might perceive it as wrongful death? I'm betting you would. Would you blow off holding me accountable if I had a piece of paper called "credentials"? You shouldn't. If anything they should act more responsibly because they have the "credentials" and so-called wilderness training. That to me is not grinding an axe, but stating the pure and simple, sad truth.



WAKE UP LADY. HAVE YOU READ ANYTHING ABOUT HIS CASE? I WAS SO OFFENDED BY YOUR COMMENTS I ALMOST DIDN'T BOTHER TO RESPOND. YOUR BLATANT IGNORANCE INFURIATES ME. WHAT GIVES? ARE YOU A FAMILY FRIEND OF THE WARDLE'S? ARE YOU MARK WARDLE, PRETENDING TO BE LEAH?  ARE YOU INCAPABLE OF DISCERNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABUSE AND THERAPY? IT SADDENS ME THAT THE WORLD IS FULL OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU. I FEEL A GREAT DEAL OF EMPATHY FOR YOUR SON, IF YOU'RE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE. GIVEN YOUR DEPTH OF YOUR IGNORANCE, HE MAY HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF AT A WILDERNESS PROGRAM, SOMETHING I WOULDN'T WISH ON THE WORST OF SO-CALLED "BAD" TEENS. I WISH IAN WAS HERE SO YOU COULD TELL HIM YOUR OPINION AND HEAR HIS RESPONSE. YOU FEEL SORRY FOR SKYLINE...WHAT YOU NEED IS SOME "GOOD" THERAPY OR A BASIC EDUCATION.

[ This Message was edited by: Deborah on 2003-01-18 11:23 ]

[Anonymous]

On 2003-01-17 20:34:00, Leah wrote: How do you know that, just possibly, August refused to drink his water?

Oh yeah, all the time kids kill themselves by refusing to drink any water. That probably happens about as often as kids kill themselves by holding their breath.

Get some reality, lady! This kid was murdered! It's just amazing how far some people are capable of reaching to avoid the obvious.

[Deborah]

I was so upset I forgot to address the ridiculous comment that "Ian might have refused to drink his water".

I would add to the previous post that IF I were the counselor in charge of marching kids in 100* weather at 8000 ft, and one of them refused to drink water...the march would stop. Period. I would not put a child at risk of death because he was "defiant". Pahleez. That is very basic common sense, and to do otherwise would be murder, intentional.

Is your thinking so twisted that you might be suggesting that he would've deserved to die if he had "chose" not to drink his water??  This is ridiculous beyond my comprehension.

Why send adults with them at all? Why not air drop them with a month's worth of supplies and a map and let them hike out alone? Those who survive the challenge could continue to live, those who die, well they just didn't get the lesson. Huh? Aren't the adults there to ensure their safety? If not, they serve no purpose.

Could you possibly be suggesting that they would have been justified in making him march inspite of his defiance? If so, that consequence is too harsh and illegal in the REAL world, and anyone who would do such a thing can only be catagorized as severely retarded or grossly insane.

Come to think of it...that's how they killed Aaron Bacon. He was physically depleted and COULDN'T  carry his pack. There was no definance involved at all, except in the warped minds of his abusers. He got to "suffer the consequences" of dropping his pack. They let him die. Withheld food and protection from the elements when temps were below freezing. They denied him medical care even after he had soiled his clothes. He smelled so bad the other teens wouldn't allow him to sleep under the tarp so he slept in the cold with no jacket or sleeping bag. I didn't know this boy, but reading his story brought me to tears, then rage at a society that would allow such treatment of their young. I do hope someone makes a movie or documentary of his story. There are many compassionate people in this country that have no idea this insanity is going on.

Leah, you are one miserable, pathetic and disgusting human being. Reading your comments makes my skin crawl.

[Hamiltonf]

Way to go Deb!  Keep up the good work.