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Ten have died in wilderness therapy
programs - and Congress wants to know why
October 11, 2007
By Matt Canham
 WASHINGTON
- Teens were beaten, tortured and denied food and water. Some were
forced to eat their own vomit. One had to clean a toilet with a
toothbrush and then clean his teeth with the same tool.
This may sound like human-rights violations in a Third World
country, but it took place in the United States, much of it in the
deserts of southern Utah, according to Greg Kutz, an investigator
with the Government Accountability Office.
Kutz studied abuse accusations in
wilderness therapy programs for troubled youth as part of an ongoing
congressional probe into this loosely regulated industry. He
presented his findings - thousands of cases of abuse or deaths since
1990 - to a House committee Wednesday. He also presented details of
10 deaths, five of which took place in Utah, one of the nation's
leaders in wilderness therapy.
Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., called the findings
"absolutely astonishing" and "outrageous."
"The federal government has completely failed to grasp the urgency
of this situation," he said.
Miller says Congress needs to wade into the oversight of these
programs, though some of his Republican counterparts and the program
owners want to see regulation remain at the state level.
The only Utah representative on the committee - GOP Rep. Rob Bishop
- did not attend because he was at another hearing.
For family members
of these dead teens, Tuesday's hearing was an emotional triumph.
Cathy Sutton's daughter Michelle died of dehydration in a Utah
program in 1990, which led the state to start regulating wilderness
therapy groups. The state has closed three programs since then, but
teens have continued to die.
While Cathy Sutton still remains a bit skeptical, she said she has
never been so full of hope that the government would rein in bad
programs.
But any congressional action will move slowly. The GAO expects to
release a broader study early next year and more hearings are
planned.
The GAO report released Wednesday could not determine the frequency
of abuse or deaths because no organization compiles such data. After
scouring court records, state investigations and news accounts, the
best investigators could say is that thousands of complaints have
been alleged.
Kutz acknowledged many programs are above-board but he also said
abuse is "widespread" with "negligent" program owners manipulating
desperate parents with false advertising.
The 10 cases he highlighted showed a disturbing pattern of medical
neglect, with counselors repeatedly assuming the teens were making
up their symptoms.
"It seemed that the only way program managers would believe they
were not faking it is if they stopped breathing or did not have a
pulse," Kutz told the committee.
That appears to be what happened to Aaron Bacon in 1994. He was
taking drugs and running with a bad crowd in high school, so the
16-year-old's parents enrolled him into the North Star Expeditions'
nine-week program in Utah's Escalante Wilderness Area.
He died a month later, having lost a fifth of his body weight. His
body was covered in bruises, rashes and open sores. His father, Bob
Bacon, told the committee that his son was a "grotesque skeleton."
Journals kept by Aaron and counselors shows he received no food for
14 of 20 days and when they did let him eat it was small quantities
of "undercooked lentils, lizards, scorpions, trail mix and a
celebrated canned peach."
Aaron Bacon, complaining of major stomach pain, wanted to go to a
doctor. Counselors refused until they found him without a pulse. He
died of a perforated ulcer. They thought he was acting sick to get
out of the program. North Star Expeditions is no longer in
business.
After Aaron Bacon's death, Utah beefed up regulations, as it has
after wilderness therapy deaths since then.
Hikes can't take place when the thermometer tops 90 degrees. Each
teen has to have six quarts of water a day. Medical personnel must
check out each teen every two weeks.
"There are a lot of good rules in place and we keep making them
better every year," said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for the Utah
Department of Human Services, which regulates the therapy programs.
But that isn't enough, said Bob Bacon. "Regulations by themselves
won't do anything."
Utah lacks the resources to provide constant oversight, he said. And
the state can't do anything about problem owners moving from state
to state.
Bacon wants to see federal mandates for training and for on-site
medical personnel. He wants to see the government go after people
who market themselves as experts when they have no actual expertise.
And he wants the federal government to create a data clearinghouse
to help regulators and parents alike.
Right now, it is all up to the states and some have no rules and no
oversight.
It usually takes a tragedy for a state to revoke a company's
license, Kutz said.
Ken Stettler, the director of Utah's licensing office, said the only
meaningful federal role he sees is a requirement that states have a
standard set of regulations. After that, he said, state regulators
are in a better position to keep an eye on the outdoor programs.
The parents and members of the committee also expressed frustration
that in many of these cases no criminal charges are filed and in
those that do go before a judge, the punishments appear to be
minimal.
"There is really no teeth behind the investigations," Kutz said.
"There is really no action on the criminal side here."
The Aaron Bacon case was one of the few exceptions, but even in that
instance the punishment was not severe. Seven North Star staffers
were charged with some form of child abuse.
One was convicted of a felony and served two months in jail. The
others pleaded to lesser charges and received probation.
mcanham@sltrib.com
Michelle Sutton, 15, of California, died May 9, 1990, from altitude
sickness, dehydration and heat exhaustion while hiking south of St.
George with Summit Quest. Sutton's death led the state to start
regulating wilderness therapy groups.
Kristen Chase, 16, of Florida, died June 27, 1990, of heatstroke on
a hike in Kane County with the Challenger Foundation program of
Escalante. Owner, Stephen Cartisano, was charged with negligent
homicide but a jury acquitted him.
Aaron Bacon, 16, of Arizona, died March 31, 1994, of peritonitis and
a perforated ulcer, while on a wilderness trek in Garfield County
with North Star Expeditions of Escalante. Supervising counselor
Craig Fisher was sentenced to a year in jail.
Katie Lank, 16, of Virginia, died Jan. 13, 2002, three weeks after
she fell about 70 feet into a crevasse while hiking with Redrock
Ranch Academy of St. George in Washington County. No charges were
filed. Lank's parents sued and settled for an undisclosed amount.
Ian August, 14, of Texas, died July 13, 2002, of heat exhaustion
while hiking with Skyline Journeys program in the Sawtooth Mountain
area west of Delta. Owner, Mark Wardle, the parent company and a
staffer were charged but the charges were later dismissed.
Susan Pinson, Ian August's birth mother, reflects on his death
nearly one year after he died in the Sky Line Journeys wilderness
program in Utah.
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