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May 1, 2005
GBI
Investigating Death of Boy at State Camp
CLEVELAND - The
Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a
13-year-old boy who was restrained at a state therapeutic wilderness
camp.
A counselor at
the Appalachian Wilderness Camp said Travis Parker had to be
restrained on the night of April 20, according to a White County
sheriff's report.
But Parker, who
reportedly had asthma, started having trouble breathing and 911 was
called. The boy died the next day at Children's Healthcare of
Atlanta at Egleston.
Autopsy results
in the case are pending, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said. Bankhead
would not discuss details of the case but said ``there are some
issues with restraint.''
Staff members at
the camp have been put on administrative leave during the
investigation, said Dena Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of
Human Resources, which runs the camp.
The camp is one
of two operated by the Department of Human Resources, Smith said.
Children are sent to the camps through juvenile justice and mental
health programs.
Parker's death
was the first time a camper at either of the two camps has died,
Smith said.
``There's never
been a fatality in the 33 years of being open,'' she said.
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