12-Year-Old's Death At Wilderness Therapy Camp Ruled A Homicide

The death of a 12-year-old boy on his first night at a wilderness therapy camp in North Carolina was determined to be a homicide, according to an autopsy report released Monday.

The boy was discovered dead in February at Trails Carolina, a self-described “therapeutic wilderness program” that’s part of what’s known as the troubled teen industry. With little oversight, the private camps, boarding schools and residential treatment facilities have been accused for decades of traumatizing the children they’re designed to help and, in some cases, have faced allegations of abuse and negligence.

Trails Carolina was permanently shut down by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services in May after it determined that the facility “endanger[ed] the health, safety, and welfare of clients,” WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported.

No criminal charges have been filed since the autopsy’s release. The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office said it is reviewing the report in conjunction with its overall investigation and is meeting with the district attorney.

A spokesperson for the camp did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on Tuesday.

According to the autopsy report obtained by HuffPost, the boy was escorted to the camp by two men on Feb. 2 and processed for check-in.

At one point during check-in, the boy refused to do anything until he had spoken to his parents in New York, and he refused to eat supper that night, according to the report.

All campers who were enrolled in the camp spent their first night next to their counselor, the report said, and the boy slept inside an individual tent known as a bivy in a mummy sleeping bag, which had a zipper alarm attached to it.

The boy’s counselor told