September 21, 2002
Outdoor Therapy Camp Workers
Charged in Hiking Death of Boy
By Michael Janofsky
Denver -- Two employees of a
wilderness therapy camp in central Utah have been charged with
child-abuse homicide in the death of a 14-year-old boy two months
ago on a desert hike.
The boy, Ian August of Austin,
Tex., was the fifth child to die since 1999 while in the care of
such a camp in Utah, a state with some of the most stringent
regulations for summer programs for children with psychological,
drug or alcohol problems.
Brent G. Berkley, the deputy
county attorney in Millard County, Utah, brought charges against
Mark Wardle, 47, and Leigh Hale, 24, and the camp that employed
them, Skyline Journey of Nephi, after the boy collapsed and died of
heat exhaustion in their care.
Mr. Berkley said Ian, at 5-foot-2
and 200 pounds, was in "very poor physical condition" when he
entered the program and was ill-equipped for a long desert hike in
midday summer heat.
On the hike, Mr. Berkley said, Ian
complained of thirst and stopped walking. He was given water, but
fell unconscious, prompting Mr. Wardle to call 911 on his cell
phone. Because of the remote location of the hike, about 40 miles
west of Delta, Utah, and wrong information given to a rescue team,
an ambulance did not arrive for two hours.
By then the boy was dead.
Mr. Berkley said that Ms. Hale was
a licensed emergency medical technician but that she either did not
recognize signs of stress or ignored them.
"It is our intent to show there
was a reckless disregard for his symptoms and signs of trouble," he
said.
Each worker faces 1 to 15 years in
prison and fines of up to $10,000. The company faces a fine of
$25,000.
Lee Wardle, the majority owner of
Skyline Journey and Mark Wardle's father, declined to discuss the
case on the advice of his lawyer. He said the company had been
operating for two years, offering "therapy and emotional growth" to
troubled teenagers, who generally participate in groups of nine.
Though the outdoor therapy camps
have gained in popularity in the last two decades as options for
frustrated parents, the camps have come under a cloud for the deaths
of nearly three dozen youngsters since 1980.
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