Man on survival trek, girl
on Outward Bound hike die in Utah deserts
July 19, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A
New Jersey man being taught survival skills and a
16-year-old Massachusetts girl on an Outward Bound hike
have died in southern Utah deserts.
Garfield
County spokeswoman Becki Bronson said the 29-year-old man,
whose name has not been released pending notification of
kin, died Monday night while taking part in a 28-day
survival course offered by the Boulder Outdoor Survival
School.
Bronson
said the man, who has not been identified pending
notification of family, was on the second day of the course
and in a group of 12 with three staff members.
"All day
Monday they were hiking in the heat with very little food or
water," she said. "He was complaining about lack of water
and cramping and still given very little water and it was
still hot." The group was in the Cottonwood Wash area about
five miles northeast of Boulder. Temperatures were in the
low 90s in the area, the National Weather Service said.
The group
was resting near a water source when one of the students
noticed the man was unusually quiet, Bronson said.
The man
was unresponsive when approached and was later pronounced
dead at the scene despite efforts by the school's staff to
revive him, Bronson said.
She said
students pay $3,000 to participate in the course, designed
to teach primitive survival skills using limited tools.
Students
are intentionally given little food or water, she said.
"They simulate what it would be like if you were without
water and were without food."
The
survival school did not return a telephone call seeking
comment late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, San Juan County authorities were investigating
the death Sunday night of the 16-year-old South Boston girl
who was hiking in Lockhart Canyon in an Outward Bound
Wilderness course.
Elisa D.
Santry was on the 16th day of a three-week outdoor course
provided by the youth-adventure organization.
Outward
Bound said the girl was with five other teens, ages 16-18,
who were hiking through heavy brush to reach rafts waiting
for them at the Colorado River.
Outward
Bound said it was trying to determine if the girl had
stopped to wait for another hiker who had injured her ankle.
The other girl made it to the river OK.
The
others noticed she was missing about 6 p.m. Sunday when they
came out of the brush.
When the
last person reached the river, they began searching for the
missing girl. Her body was found up a small side canyon
about a quarter mile from the Canyonlands National Park
boundary.
She may
have been trying to find an easier path, but that's only
speculation," Outward Bound President Mickey Freeman said.
He said
the girl was found with water remaining in her bottle, had
passed a medical screening and had no known health problems.
The "area
in this part of San Juan County is rugged, sandy, and the
temperature was about 110 degrees when she passed away,"
Sheriff Mike Lacy said.
"The
remainder of the course has been canceled, and students will
be returned to their families," Outward Bound said.
The
company said more than 60,000 people participate in its
programs every year.
Copyright 2006 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
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