Horrific details emerge in cover-up death of boy, 12, found half naked at camp

13 February 2024 , 08:42

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Trails Carolina camp in Lake Toxaway claims to "help struggling teens and their families reconnect, heal, and thrive" (Image: Trails)

Shocking new details have emerged about the cover-up death of a boy who was found 'frothing at the mouth' and half naked a day after enrolling in a controversial therapy camp.

The Transylvania County Sheriff’s office said in a statement the boy was taken, with his parent's consent, on February 2, by two men from New York to the Trails Carolina camp in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, US.

He was found dead the next morning. Local police carried out two search warrants as part of an investigation into his death and affidavits filed with the warrants explained what they saw. The boy has not been formally named but instead referred to as CJH.

Trails Carolina has been accused of not cooperating with the investigation. Describing the moment the officers found the boy: "Upon entering the structure they observed CJH laying in the floor of the bunk house on a mat. The body was in Rigour Mortis at this time and was cold to the touch. CJH was laying on his back with his arms on his chest and his knees bent upwards toward the sky."

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Trails Carolina Camp has been accused of not cooperating with the police, something a spokesperson has denied (Facebook / Trails Carolina)

The Trails Carolina camp in Lake Toxaway claims to "help struggling teens and their families reconnect, heal, and thrive" by taking children away, following their parent's consent, for weeks of outdoor therapy.

The warrant claimed the boy was found wearing a hoodie and t-shirt but with his trousers and underwear laying next to him. According to police no one could explain how his clothes had been taken off.

The document read: "They noted an extended vain on his neck and possible bruising around the eye. Once they rolled the body, CJH began to foam at the mouth, which could've indicated that he ingested some sort of poison."

A staff member told police that the boy was "cold to the touch and stiff," when they found him in the morning and the police were called. Staff claimed the boy had a panic attack between midnight and 12.30am.

“Him and another counsellor stood along the wall while CJD was experience (sic) panic and high anxiety,” the warrant revealed.

They claimed the boy was then checked on at 3am and 6am before being found dead at 7.45am.

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Staff prevented police speaking to other children at the camp (Trails Carolina)

State regulators have now ordered the wilderness therapy program to stop taking new admissions and take urgent measures to protect children.

The FBI have also been brought in to help investigations at the camp with detectives investigating the boy’s death as manslaughter, the warrant said. Police have previously said an autopsy showed the boy’s death was not natural.

Detectives were blocked from seeing the other children in the dormitory where the boy died, the warrant said. It reads: “Trails Carolina staff refused to allow us to speak with any juveniles on sight, as well as see them. They also refused to give out any of the juveniles names or date of births (sic), or any other information as well.”

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According to the warrant, staff at the camp also blocked social workers accessing the space. The warrant said: "DSS was provided with first names of the juveniles but nothing else. When they attempted to ascertain the whereabouts of these juveniles, they refused to disclose the locations of them.”

The children's mobile phones are taken away from them and throughout the wilderness program, they are expected to "restore and rebuild" relationships with their parents (Facebook / Trails Carolina)

Despite apparent efforts to block investigators, officers managed to confiscate notebooks belonging to other children and seize electronic devices from the camp.

A statement from Trails Camp provided to local paper WBTV read: “Trails maintains there is no evidence of criminal conduct or suspicious acts, based upon all knowledge available to us and information and statements from involved agencies. Trails and all related personnel have not been charged with any crimes. Knowing the truth about what caused the loss of this young boy’s life is what matters, and we eagerly await the report by the chief medical examiner.”

The spokesperson also addressed particular claims in the warrant: "Trails is aware of the contents of the search warrant and we are saddened for the family to have these details made public. The search warrant document contains misleading statements; there are details we will not address at this time out of respect for the family and the investigation that is still underway.

"We can address the statement that Trails prevented children from speaking to investigators. Trails asked parents’ permission for any children involved to speak with law enforcement and state regulatory agencies, and we complied with each parent’s preference, as we are required by law to do. Children were moved from the area to protect them from seeing what was happening, not to avoid investigators. We are a mental health facility treating children with severe, complex mental health diagnoses. Not moving children from the area would have harmed their mental well-being.”

Charlie Jones