More than a week after a 12-year-old boy was found dead at a wilderness therapy camp in North Carolina, state officials are telling the camp to stop admissions and take other steps to ensure children’s safety during the investigation.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will require unlimited and unannounced access to Trails Carolina by local Department of Social Services (DSS) staff, law enforcement and state investigators, according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
Trails Carolina released the following statement to Fox News Digital following the health department’s order: “Trails will continue to support current students and families in their personal growth and equip them with the confidence and tools they need to continue their healing journey.”
Police have said the camp is not fully cooperating with the investigation, a claim Trails Carolina refutes.
The camp has maintained that there is “no evidence of criminal conduct or suspicious acts” and that they are complying with law enforcement in the investigation.
The boy was found dead on Feb. 3 in a cabin at Trails Carolina, according to the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office. An autopsy determined the boy’s death was “not natural.” However, the cause of the boy’s death has not yet been determined.
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As the state health department continues its investigation into the boy’s death, it has asked that at least one staffer be awake when children are asleep, and they must stop using bivy bags, which are collapsible weatherproof, one-person shelter bags.
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The new provisions will be in place until the department finishes its investigation.
The sheriff’s department tells Fox News Digital that it could take months for the toxicology report results on the boy’s death to be available.
