Date: 2003-05-26
[editorial note: I include this article in the archive for educational purposes in order to cross reference place names and individuals. I would like to point out that, although it seems to exonerate the people involved in this case, it does so by shifting focus to the wrong question. I don't CARE if the paper work is in order or the rules were followed. I care about whether or not the adults responsible for this minor took good care of him.]
No Rules Broken in Fatal Trek Wednesday, July 17, 2002
BY MATT CANHAM, ASHLEY BROUGHTON and MARK HAVNES THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
ST. GEORGE -- Preliminary reports indicate that Skyline Journey followed all regulations during the Saturday hike that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Ian August.
All the information available shows the "nondeprivation" youth wilderness program stayed within the appropriate temperature guidelines and responded correctly to the Texas boy's situation, according to Ken Stettler, director of the Office of Licensing for the Department of Human Services.
The licensing office is waiting for an official cause of death and a completed police report before making a determination about possible violations.
Millard County Sheriff Ed Phillips said he received a preliminary verbal report from the medical examiner Monday that August's death appeared to be from heatstroke or heat exhaustion.
Phillips said he should complete his police report by the end of the week. "We are treating the death as we would any suspicious or unattended death," he said. It will be up to County Attorney LeRay Jackson to decide if criminal charges will be filed in the boy's death.
The teenager, described as 5 feet 3 inches and weighing 200 pounds, died in the early stages of a three-mile hike from one campsite to another near Marjum Pass. The pass, a desolate and rocky area with scattered pinion-juniper, is 70 miles west of Delta and has an elevation of 6,400 feet. Five other teenagers and three program coordinators were also on the hike.
Wilderness programs for troubled youth are not allowed to take students on hikes in temperatures of 95 degrees or higher, according to state regulations. Stettler said he knows "for sure" that the temperature was under 95 degrees during the hike because program officials carried thermometers with them.
Groups are also forbidden to keep hiking if any member cannot or will not go on.
The other members of August's group continued on the trail after he stopped and returned later, Stettler said. He says this is not a violation because the "individual who couldn't continue wasn't forced to." However, the state regulation reads: "Hiking shall not exceed the physical capability of the weakest member of the group. If a [youth] cannot or will not hike, the group shall not continue."
State rules say that even one violation by a youth camp can result in license revocation and student removal, "due to the difficulty of monitoring outdoor programs and the inherent dangers of the wilderness."
Mark Wardle, program manager for Skyline Journey, told state officials Monday that six students and three employees set out for the hike around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. The group carried light packs with clothing and a bedroll.
About three hours and 1.3 miles into the hike, August refused to continue. He said he was thirsty, officials said, and was given water, but complained of dizziness and sat down. A counselor who is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), stayed with August and a tarpaulin was used to provide shade.
At 1:30 p.m., August began moaning and fell backward from his seated position. Phillips said the EMT checked for a pulse but could not find one. It is unclear what was being done for August in the two-hour period from the time he stopped hiking until he collapsed.
The group radioed Wardle and the EMT reported that August was in cardiac arrest and to call 911. Meanwhile the counselor performed CPR. Emergency personnel arrived on the scene two hours after the 911 call; an AirMed helicopter from the University of Utah never arrived.
The Millard County Sheriff's Office called in the correct Global Positioning System coordinates to AirMed at first, according to Ken Matthews, chief flight nurse, but changed them when the helicopter was 20 minutes from the canyon and routed them to the Delta hospital.
August, who had completed a physical from his doctor in Texas before joining the program and passed a medical check on Friday, was dead before emergency personnel reached him.
Skyline Journey will not comment on August's death until the police investigation is complete. The company says it is cooperating with the investigation and keeping in contact with August's mother, who was expected to arrive in Utah on Tuesday to claim his body.
The rest of the group that was with August is still on its wilderness survival expedition.
According to its Web site, http://www.skylinejourney.com, Skyline Journey "involves a journey of emotional growth in a nondeprivational setting."
Aimed mainly at youth with emotional or self-esteem problems, the program also accepts teens from 14-18 with attention deficit disorder, depression, or those abusing drugs or alcohol. No information has been released about why August was sent to the facility, but a friend from Dripping Springs Middle School told the Austin, Texas, Austin-American Statesman the boy had recently "started getting angry at everything." Still, Aaron Joseph said August was "an overall nice person" and "very intelligent," and loved playing video games and Dungeons and Dragons.
August is the fifth teen to die in a Utah wilderness program since 1990.