CAICA REPORT:

 Summary of:

The Death of Aaron Wright Bacon

16 years old  
Lost his life on 3/31/94
Northstar Expeditions Wilderness Program
Phoenix, AZ

Click here for summary of Court of Appeals Decision

Written by: Isabelle Zehnder

March 2006

 2006©
 

 www.caica.org

Loving Them to Death

On March 31, 1994, 16-year old Aaron Bacon died. Aaron’s mom received a phone call that no parent ever wants to receive. It was a call from Utah’s North Star Expeditions’ employee who told her “Aaron is down, we can’t get a pulse.” Aaron was being airlifted to a hospital in Page, Arizona. She was told that he had collapsed in the desert, that it was a freak accident.

On March 1, 1994, the Bacon’s had enrolled Aaron in a 63-day North Star course near Escalante because in his sophomore year he started smoking pot and ditching classes. His grades plummeted. He was jumped by members of a gang which caused his parents to believe he might have had some involvement with them, though Aaron adamantly denied any involvement.  

So after hearing about North Star from a friend of a friend, Aaron’s parents, Bob and Sally Bacon, enrolled him.  North Star strongly recommended he be escorted to the facility. Bob and Sally voiced their concerns about Aaron’s very thin build to North Star owners Lance and Barbara Jaggar, concerned he may have difficulties. They explained he did not respond well to intimidation. They were reassured Lance had a special gift for working with kids and that Aaron would not lose weight.

So the Bacons’ took out a second mortgage to pay the $13,900 tuition for the 63-day course, plus another $775 to pay for the forced “escort” to Escalante.

At 6:00 a.m. on March 1, Aaron was taken from his bed forcibly and against his will by Lance Jaggar and his brother-in-law, Don Burkhart, at the request of his parents. But Sally had a tough time saying goodbye, grabbing his face in her hands and assuring him this was for his own good, asking that he not be afraid. Aaron was then taken to the airport and flown to Escalante.

Over the next month, Aaron’s mother called frequently to see how he was doing. On March 30^th she called and had a long conversation with North Star spokeswoman Daryl Bartholomew who told her that he was belligerent and a whiner and that the other kids resented him. She was told he may even have to repeat the program. 24-hours later, Aaron was dead.

According to the autopsy report, the cause of Aaron’s death was acute peritonitis resulting from a perforated ulcer. “The contents of Aaron’s gastrointestinal tract had leaked through two holes in his small intestine, spreading a massive infection throughout his abdominal cavity. North Star explained that the ailment had surfaced so suddenly that heroic efforts by its field staff and an emergency medical helicopter were futile. Preliminary reports from the Garfield County sheriff's office seemed to confirm North Star's contention that the death was an unavoidable accident.”

Things changed when Aaron’s body arrived and his mother saw his remains. Aaron’s mother was confronted with a “battered, emaciated corpse.” She screamed and had to cover her eyes. She said, "His hipbones stuck way out, his ribs--he looked like a concentration-camp victim. There were bruises from the tip of his toes to the top of his head, open sores up and down the inside of his thighs. The only way we were even able to recognize him was a childhood scar above his right eye."

She knew his death was not an accident and that something horrible had been done to her own son. (See Exhibit 1[1].)

Death Trip:

Aaron’s mother is quoted as saying “I was seeking a place where Aaron could go and get in touch with God and himself,” Sally Bacon said. “Where he could get clearheaded and think about choices, about where his life was going. I was trying to help my child, and what they did to him is so horrible that I can’t even talk about it.”

In one of Aaron’s last entries, in handwriting that had begun to deteriorate, Aaron speculated that his parents would never have sent him to the camp if they’d known what it would really be like.

“It’s my 21^st day here, and I’m in terrible condition,” he wrote. “I feel like I’m losing control of my body … I’m so scared of everything here – staff, slick rocks, nights, the cold, everything. I couldn’t tell at all that I would be doing this sort of thing from the catalog. I describe it as legal child abuse.” (See Exhibit 2[2].)

Deadly Discipline:

“Lee (Wallace A. Lee, county attorney for Garfield County, Utah) said William Henry not only set the tone for the treatment of Aaron, he was personally informed of and approved of the care Aaron was receiving. And that care, Lee said, was horrific.” Eight people were charged with felony child neglect and abuse in Aaron’s death. (See Exhibit 3[3].)

Tough Love Proves Too Tough:

Sally Bacon recounts her memory of her first moments with Aaron upon his return from North Star. She said “I went into the room and his face was unrecognizable…He had these sunken cheeks, and his eyes, he looked like a skeleton, his hands were all bone. I ripped the sheet off.” “He was literally bruised, black and blue, from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. He had sores between his legs, open sores. The bottoms of his feet, I don’t know how anyone could have walked or hiked on them. I began screaming, because something was terribly wrong.”

It goes on to say that critics say there is little evidence to show that wilderness therapy works. They cite one study in the mid-1980’s where the City of San Diego tracked the first 100 delinquent boys it sent through the VisionQuest program. After one year, 55 percent had been arrested again. After three years, 92 percent had been arrested again. Still, industry leaders like Buie insist that the concepts work.

The real crime, says Aaron’s father, Bob Bacon, is that so many young people are dead. And no one will take responsibility. “The ignorance, arrogance, incompetence, callousness, and greed of the people running these programs is proving repeatedly to be dangerous, abusive, and even fatal,” says Bacon. “The lessons are not being learned.” (Exhibit 4[4]).

The details of this report will prove that Aaron’s death was anything but an accident.

Facts

This is a summary of background information taken from the State of Utah Court of Appeals’ Opinion, (Exhibit 5[5]). Lance Jaggar and seven other North Star employees were charged with felony child abuse and neglect in Aaron’s death.

The North Star Program 

A-Team           Orientation/holding area for youth entering the program

Primitive          Children were taken out into the Escalante River basin with backpacks, sleeping bags, and modest
                               amounts of food;

Handcarts        Students learned to work together as a team; and

Llamas            Students learned to care for animals and also prepared to return to their homes.

 
Provisions

At the beginning of the program, each student was assigned a backpack, sleeping bag (rated to twenty degrees below zero), and clothing. Following a forty-eight hour fast broken by a can of peaches, students received a one-week supply of food. They were allowed to eat as much of their ration of supplies as they wished each day. Each food package generally consisted of rice, lentils, oatmeal, cornmeal, trail mix, and smaller amounts of fresh vegetables, cheese, and sausage.

The students were required to cook their food themselves in a metal cup (holding about five fluid ounces) provided by North Star.

North Star Policies and Procedures

All new North Star employees reviewed and signed a copy of the North Star policies and procedures, which were consistent with state licensing standards. The policies provided that "line staff" (the instructors) were responsible "for the safety and welfare of fellow staff members and students."

The policies instructed staff to never call students names or make jokes directed to an individual and never to make condemning comments to students. They were also required to review and sign a copy of the Provider Code of Conduct. The "Discipline and Treatment of the Student," provided that:

The following is not appropriate treatment of a student and is grounds for dismissal:

1.       Verbal abuse using language which attacks the well being of the student. This may include but is not limited to name calling, teasing, humiliation, ridicule, use of foul and abusive language, etc.;

          2.       The withholding of any meal; 

3.       Excessive denial of ongoing program services or denial of any essential program services solely for disciplinary purposes;

          4.       Denial of shelter, clothing or bedding; and

          5.       Failure to provide adequate medical care and/or treatment as is necessary or as is instructed by a physician.

Instructors’ Responsibilities

The instructors were expected to report any illness, complaint, or disciplinary incident (such as a student refusing to carry his or her pack or trying to run away) to their backup supervisor. Most days, an instructor was in radio contact with North Star's Escalante office.

Daily Journal

The students kept a daily journal in which they recorded their progress through the program. Each student's journal was read by an instructor, who also wrote comments to the student in the student's journal. The instructors also had to keep journals.

Aaron’s Journal Entries:

March 12 . . . . “I fell because I lost balance and my legs were so weak . . . . My whole body became numb that time and I was so weak that I couldn't even lift my arms. I was down for so long that I began to lose sight. Not go blind but I couldn't keep my eyes open.”

March 21 . . . . "I haven't been able to eat for awhile [sic] and I'm pretty cold and hungry. I haven't eaten for a long time. Actually for more than a day." “I am in terrible condition here. My hands are all chapped and my lips are cracking. I feel like I'm losing control of my body. I start[ed] to pee my pants every night for the past three nights and today when we started our little hike I took a dump in my pants. I didn't even feel it coming. It just happened. I told Jeff [Hohenstein] because I thought he might be more sympathetic and easy on . . . me, but he yelled to Craig [Fisher], "He took a dump in his pants." . . . All of the other students started to laugh and I couldn't help it.

March 22 . . . . "[a]ll I can think about is cold and pain . . . . I need to eat now. I haven't been able to eat trail food all day, no breakfast, no trail food, nothing. I am so cold."

Loving Them to Death

Excerpts from Aaron Bacon's personal journal

Aaron Bacon "working towards success" 1-March-94

I have been shaking from the cold since I got here, my body being used to the weather in Phoenix is going to go into auto shock. I feel like I'm going to die. My whole body is goose flesh and I feel like it's being stretched over my body like the skin of an animal over a drum. I am scared. I don't know when I can talk or if I can. I was given "food" today and I have no clue how to eat any of it. I am being grouped with 9 advanced students (who I can have no verbal contact with, and of course no physical) 5 of the nine are girls, I can't believe that these people are happy and I don't. I have noticed that all of the advanced students have cheese and sausage. I am with one other "A teamer" (I guess that's what I am) he and I can talk as much as I want with him, thank (word scratched out). I've been sitting by the fire since I've been writing and I've been the closest that I've been to another person (or the longest length of time) and I am still cold as all (word scratched out). I have to write as I would speak now because "There is to be no use of profanity. This rule includes never using of the name of deity (God) in vain." What bull (word scratched out). They are . . .

One of the final entries

(This entry is blood-smeared and every sentence grows increasing illegible)

. . . blood every where, my nose has been bleeding for the past couple daze and even that scares me. I never get nose bleeds at home and that sort of reminds me of that airplane movie where (illegible) is always saying he never does that at home.

Primitive Phase

Fisher was a counselor who had about three months of experience at the time Aaron was enrolled at North Star.  He was assigned to the “Primitive” section that began with a forty-eight hour fast called “Impact.” After Impact, the students were given a can of peaches to break the fast.

Following the fast students and staff ate only two meals a day--breakfast and dinner. However, students were allowed to eat their weekly food allotment at whatever pace they chose, and they were not prohibited from eating a mid-day meal if they wished. No one was allowed to share food with anyone else.

Aaron Bacon’s Decline

When Aaron entered the program, he was five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 131 pounds. He was assigned to Fisher's Primitive section on March 11, and in accord with North Star practice, ate no food on March 12-13 (the "Impact" portion) except some prickly pear cactus he foraged. On March 12, Aaron noted in his journal that he fell twice while hiking and could not get up because the pack was too heavy

The instructors testified that they believed Aaron was feigning his problems and fell because he was lazy and did not want to carry a pack.

March 13-15

On March 13, to break the Impact fast, Aaron and the others each ate a can of peaches. That night Aaron ate rice and lentils for dinner. The next day, March 14, he ate both breakfast and dinner. Aaron also fell while hiking on this day. He did not eat breakfast on the morning of March 15. He stopped hiking and lay down, complaining that he was too tired to hike and could not go any further.

Again, Fisher and the other instructors interpreted Aaron’s complaints as "a lack of motivation and laziness." Aaron and another student decided to drop their packs--that is, continue hiking with the group but without their packs--and they were told by Fisher and the other instructors that if they dropped their packs, it would be several days before they could retrieve them.

Aaron and the other student decided nonetheless to drop their packs, leaving behind their food, sleeping bags, and cooking cups. As a result, Aaron was not able to cook food that evening (although he ate some cold food).

Aaron was also without his sleeping bag and coat that night, and slept under the shelter with the group.

The low temperature that night was thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit.

March 16

Aaron had less difficulty hiking the next day, March 16, although he and another student slid down a slickrock wall, breaking a couple of water containers and suffering a few minor abrasions. Fisher interpreted Aaron’s ability to hike well that day as proof of Aaron’s laziness on the previous days. None of the students ate dinner that night, because they did not have enough water.

The low temperature was thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit, and Aaron again slept without a sleeping bag.

March 17-18

On March 17, the only breakfast Aaron ate was a six-inch-long raw lizard and one cooked scorpion (several other students and staff members also ate scorpions). The group returned to the dropped packs that day, and Aaron was able to eat a hot dinner.

Aaron ate two meals on March 18. That day, the entire group waded through chest-deep water, and Aaron’s pack and its contents, including his clothes and sleeping bag, were soaked through.

The low temperature that night was thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit.

March 19-20

None of the students ate breakfast on March 19, but they did eat rice and lentils for dinner. The group did not hike on March 20.

When Aaron and another student were still not able to make a fire using the bow drill, Fisher established a "no fire, no food" rule, and the other instructors acquiesced in his decision.

March 21

The next day, March 21, Aaron wrote in his journal that he had not been able to eat for a while and was cold and hungry. He wrote that he was in terrible condition, that his hands were chapped and his lips were cracked. He also wrote that he felt he was losing control of his body and that he was losing control of bodily functions, resulting in students laughing and making fun of him.

Again, Fisher and the other instructors interpreted Aaron’s incontinence as a sign that Aaron lacked "self-respect" and was feigning ailments. Although the group often slept in a "burrito"--with everyone sleeping close together under the same tarp--after this date no one would sleep next to Aaron.

It is not clear whether Aaron ate dinner that night, but he never succeeded in starting a fire using the bow drill and would thus have been prohibited from eating anything but cold or foraged food under Fisher's "no fire, no food" rule. Fisher left for his twenty-four-hour leave on the evening of March 21.

March 22

Aaron was not allowed to eat breakfast on the morning of March 22 because "his cup wasn't clean" and he "didn't get a fire," but he did forage some prickly pear cactus. Because Fisher was in town on leave, he did not participate in this decision.

Fisher returned from leave on the evening of March 22 and was angry at the students because they were late setting up camp. As a result, the students were not allowed to eat dinner, although the staff ate a dinner of bacon and pork chops.

That evening, Aaron wrote in his journal that all he could think about was the cold and pain, and that he needed to eat. He said he had not been able to eat anything and that he was so cold.

March 23

On March 23, Aaron’s cup was still not clean, so he was not allowed to cook food. The other students ate rice and lentils.

Aaron again told the instructors that he could not carry his pack any longer and that his stomach hurt. Fisher reminded Aaron that if he dropped his pack he would not have food or a sleeping bag for the next few days, but Aaron dropped his pack anyway.

Aaron’s only dinner that night was a mixture of powdered milk and brown sugar given to him secretly by another student.

That night, he slept under the shelter, without a sleeping bag, blanket, or coat.

The low temperature that night was twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit.

March 24-25

Aaron was not allowed to eat breakfast or dinner on March 24, and he again slept without a sleeping bag or blanket. The low temperature that night was twenty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, and Aaron told the instructors that he was cold.

The next morning, March 25, Aaron had only prickly pear cactus or pine needle tea for breakfast.

The group hiked eight miles that day.

The instructors "were a little bit concerned about [Aaron’s] energy level" and "his appearance. He was getting a bit thin at that point [and] was weak, his face was pale and his cheeks were hollow" and he was "looking gaunt."

Aaron was not allowed to eat that night, again complained of a stomach ache, and was listless and dispirited.

The owners of North Star, Bill Henry and Lance Jaggar,(4) visited the group's camp that night. They gave Aaron a wool blanket to sleep with, but they directed the instructors not to let Aaron sleep under the shelter because he had not helped build it. Aaron slept near the fire.

The low temperature that night was twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit.

March 26

Aaron ate prickly pear cactus and pine needle tea for breakfast the next morning, March 26.

On Henry and Jaggar's direction, the instructors made the students do "physical training"--100 four-count jumping jacks, 100 leg raises, 100 sit-ups, and 50 pushups. Aaron was able to do only ten sit-ups on his own power, and the instructors helped him do another twenty more.

The group hiked only two miles that day, because Aaron said he could not hike any longer.

That night, Fisher and another instructor took rice and lentils from another student and gave them to Aaron to eat. Later that night, he again complained of stomach pain and vomited.

The low temperature was twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit.

Fisher left for his second twenty-four-hour leave late on the night of March 26. He called Henry and asked for Aaron to be transferred to the "A-team" section of North Star because Aaron was poorly motivated and had a bad attitude.

Also on March 26, Jeff Hohenstein filled out a weekly evaluation for Aaron He wrote that Aaron’s health was "[n]ot good. Since he dropped his pack he has lost more weight. He is listless . . . ." Hohenstein described Aaron’s motivation as "[n]on-existent: even in the face of the strictest consequences he practically, almost literally, has to be picked up and made to move."

March 27

On March 27, Aaron was allowed to eat rice and lentils for breakfast and dinner, in spite of the "no fire, no food" rule.

The group hiked more than ten miles that day.

When Fisher returned from his twenty-four-hour leave, he brought an electrolyte replacement drink for Aaron and another student. Although he still had not made a fire, Aaron was allowed to eat that night, because Fisher and Hohenstein were concerned about him.

The low temperature was thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.

March 28

The "no fire, no food" rule was invoked again by the three instructors on March 28, and Aaron was not allowed to eat breakfast.

They hiked between eight and fifteen miles that day. By this time, Aaron looked skinny and unhealthy, his face was drawn, and he could not hike well. Aaron had to be carried the last half-mile into camp that night, and was "always complaining" that his stomach hurt. Again, the instructors discounted Aaron’s complaints and called him a "faker."

At this point, the instructors were concerned about Aaron’s weight loss and told him he had to eat. The instructors made him eat a cup of rice and lentils, and Aaron complained that it hurt him to eat. Aaron told the instructors that his stomach hurt and he needed to see a doctor, but they told him it was a long way to a doctor.

The low temperature that night was thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.

March 29

The group did "full-body hygiene" on March 29--that is, they all stripped down, washed their bodies, and laundered their clothes. Aaron’s fellow students testified that he was pale and "really skinny" and looked like a "Jewish person" in a "concentration camp."

Aaron again asked that day, in Fisher's presence, to see a doctor. He again complained that his stomach hurt and that he was dizzy, and he also reported seeing spots.

Aaron hiked poorly that day, and repeatedly fell down. When Fisher asked Aaron why he was "falling all the time," Aaron responded that he did not know.

Aaron’s "very general and vague" answers led Fisher to conclude that "it was something minor being exaggerated or an outright fake."

That evening, Aaron had difficulty gathering wood. The instructors, including Fisher, mocked Aaron by saying "I'm to [sic] week [sic] to pick up wood. I'm weak. My stomach hurts. I can't eat." Aaron ate rice and lentils that night.

The low temperature was thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.

March 30

Aaron ate oatmeal for breakfast on March 30. He retrieved his pack after the group had hiked a mile or two. However, he decided to abandon it again after he fell over while carrying it.

Aaron was carried back to camp by other students, and on the way there Aaron looked up at the sky and said that it "looked purple and that there was lights flashing." Aaron again complained of stomach pain.

Fisher wrote in his journal that the group "tried to hike, but [Aaron] wouldn't allow us to," and that Aaron was "throwing fits and moaning." Fisher radioed the North Star office, and Georgette Costigan,(5) an emergency medical technician, met the group to check on Aaron.

Costigan asked Aaron how he was doing and gave him a piece of cheese. She did not do a medical assessment beyond noticing that his skin was flushed and dry and feeling for (but not counting) his pulse.

Aaron told Costigan that his stomach hurt.

Neither Fisher nor the other instructors told Costigan that Aaron had been complaining that:

• He had stomach pain
• He had gone without food or a sleeping bag
• He complained of dizziness and seeing spots and other visual hallucinations
• He had repeatedly fallen while hiking
• He was incontinent
• He had vomited
• He had repeatedly asked to see a doctor
• He had been losing weight.

When Fisher asked Costigan to take Aaron back into town with her, Costigan said that because it was not anything serious, she would leave him there for the night and come back to check on him again the next day.

Aaron vomited again that night. He was moaning, and when Fisher told him to stop moaning, Aaron said that he could not.

While the other students ate dinner and wrote in their journals, Aaron sat away from the group, his head tilted to the side and his jaw agape, drooling.

Fisher told him to stop drooling and mimicked him.

Aaron ate rice and lentils that night, and complained that his stomach was hurting "really bad."

He told Fisher that he did not want to die, and Fisher assured him that he would not. Aaron slept in a sleeping bag that night for the first time in eight days.

March 31

On the morning of March 31, Aaron took about one hour to leave the shelter and crawl to the campfire, which was twenty feet away. Fisher testified that Aaron looked "really bad . . . . He looked really sick and he was--he was weak. We had to . . . pick him up off the ground."

Aaron repeatedly fell asleep while he was crawling, and Fisher and the other instructors would wake him up and tell him to keep going. He had again become incontinent.

When Aaron was finally able to stand up, he immediately fell over again. Aaron told Fisher and Hohenstein that he had to use the latrine, and when they went to check on him they found that Aaron could not make it to the latrine.

They carried him to the latrine and left him there; when they returned for him, they found that he had fallen into the latrine and his feet were covered in excrement.

Another instructor radioed the North Star office to tell them that Aaron refused to hike and was complaining of a stomach ache. Costigan told the instructor to leave Aaron with the Llama group, which she would be visiting that day.

Students carried Aaron to the Llama camp. Some time later, other North Star employees arrived to take Aaron from the Llama group to the A-team (holding group).

Aaron was unable to walk and looked pale and sickly, and he told one of these staff members that he was "really sick." A North Star employee, who had been told that Aaron was feigning illness, told Aaron that he just needed to get in the truck. Aaron got into the truck and the North Star employee fastened Aaron’s seat belt.

For the next few minutes, the staff made fun of Aaron and imitated his collapse.

When Aaron slouched over in the truck, they unbelted him, checked for a pulse, began CPR, and radioed North Star for help.

A physician's assistant, who had examined Aaron before he began the North Star program, arrived and began advanced life support procedures on Aaron.

The physician's assistant later testified that Aaron was so gaunt he did not recognize Aaron as the boy he had examined several weeks earlier.

A helicopter arrived, and Aaron was flown to Page, Arizona, where he was pronounced dead.

The autopsy revealed that Aaron died of acute peritonitis resulting from a perforated ulcer. Expert testimony established that the ulcer had most likely developed around March 15, and that malnutrition and hypothermia would have aggravated his condition. During his time at North Star, Aaron’s weight dropped from 131 pounds to 108 pounds, a 17% loss of body mass.

*

NORTHSTAR EXPEDITIONS STAFF SENTENCED NOVEMBER 1

According to Cathy Sutton, of the Michelle Sutton Memorial Fund, the Northstar Expeditions staff in Utah were charged with responsibility for the death of Aaron Bacon, about a year ago, were sentenced November 1, 1996. Aaron Bacon’s death generated considerable national publicity at the time. Owners Lance Jagger and William Henry, along with three other staff members had pleaded Guilty to Negligent Homicide, a Class A Misdemeanor. All five defendants were given a one year suspended sentence, fines, 36 months probation, and significant community service hours. On November 6, 1996, a jury found another staff member, Craig Fisher, Guilty for Neglect and Abuse of a Disabled Child, a Third Degree Felony. Sentencing was set for December 19. 

http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives/1997/2/seen02.html

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REFERRALS: CAICA is not a referral agency. CAICA does not refer to or promote facilities or transport companies for children or teens. CAICA warns parents that the parent pay / parent choice programs ie. Residential Treatment Centers, Therapeutic Boarding Schools, Behavior Modification Programs, Christian Programs, Positive Peer Culture Programs, etc., are not regulated by the Federal Government and that it is a "Buyer Beware" industry. CAICA provides the following for parents: Message to Parents, Help for Distraught and Desperate Parents, and Questions to Ask and Warning Signs.

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