A wilderness camp leads to a fatal outcome | Forensic Files

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[Music] website at around 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday March 1 1994 16-year-old Aaron bacon lay
sleeping in his bed in the home where he lived with his parents in Phoenix Arizona the quiet of the early morning
hour was br broken by a high pitched noise outside Aaron's closed bedroom door one of the family's three pet
Sharpes was whining the sound woke Aaron and soon he heard their other two dogs start to
growl and bark as well Aaron's bedroom door suddenly swung open and three men walked in two of them
were strangers who Aaron had never seen before the third was his father as Aaron l confused and stunned
in bed his father said Aaron I love you but we're going to have to make some changes today
[Music] [Music] Sally and Bob bacon had been worried about their youngest son for some time
Aaron had always been a bright talented and exceptionally empathetic child when he was little his mother had discovered
that he was making peanut butter sandwiches and leaving them out for unhoused people who lived in the same
historic district of Phoenix that they called home he stood up for kids at school who
were being Bor and he was passionate about music and writing poetry but things had slowly started to
change when Aron was in the eighth grade the problems began when his brother Jared 3 years older than Aaron
and the only other child of Sally and Bob bacon began experimenting with recreational
drugs Aaron was unhappy about this his father Bob was a recovering alcoholic by 1994 he had been sober for
8 and 1/2 years and was doing well with a thriving career as an architect and a designer Bob had always been very
upfront with his sons about this teaching them about the dangers of addiction yet when Jared started using
drugs neither Bob nor Sally confronted him about it which upset Aaron Jared eventually asked his mother
for help and his parents sent them to a respected rehab facility in Minnesota The Experience didn't seem to change
Jared's behavior and he continued to smoke cannabis after leaving the facility he eventually stopped using
drugs on his own a few years later but 6 months after Jared had entered rehab Aaron began to experiment
for himself he started smoking cannabis and taking psychedelics Aaron had always been a top
student but his grades began to drop he campaigned to be allowed to change schools leaving the exclusive private
school he attended for a public one called Central High Aaron told his parents he felt
stifled by his current school and wanted to study somewhere with a more diverse student
body his girlfriend also attended Central High adding to its appeal Sally and Bob had agreed but were
disappointed when the switch didn't seem to make Aaron any happier or more settled in fact his behavior grew worse
he would take the family car out at night without permission getting into minor scrapes and later denying it when
his parents noticed the damage Aaron was increasingly withdrawn and irritable no longer confiding in his
mother as he once had the final straw came in February of 1994 when Aaron was attacked by members
of a street gang in his school parking lot witnesses to the assault said that it didn't appear to be a random incident
it looked like the gang members knew Aaron they had called him rabbit a nickname that suggested
familiarity Sally and Bob wondered if Aaron was in fact an associate of the gang he was now smoking pot regularly
what if the attack had been drug related concern that their youngest son might have escalated from taking drugs
to selling them Sally and Bob knew they had to do something as soon as possible they pulled Aaron out of school
and considered their options they were already in Family Therapy which they'd started after Aaron started stealing
their car Sally and Bob did not want to send Aaron to a rehab facility as they had
with their oldest son Sally had realized that the reason the facility hadn't helped Jared was likely because he
didn't have an actual addiction the same was true for Aaron he just needed some guidance to set him on a better
course then Sally remembered something she'd heard about from a friend her friend had told her about a
Wilderness therapy Camp designed especially for troubled teens located in the southern region of
Utah Sally's friend knew a couple who had sent their rebellious son there and he'd reportedly emerged with a wonderful
new attitude the program was called North Star Expeditions Northstar had been founded
four years earlier by a former military policeman named Lance Jagger it was one of many such camps
that had sprung up in Utah and other Western United States during the 1980s and '90s
in fact it was estimated that there were roughly 115 organizations that offered Wilderness programs designed to assist
so-called troubled youths across the entire country away from televisions computer
games and Friends deemed to be a bad influence teenagers who attended these programs could reconnect with the
natural world via long difficult hikes and sleeping outside they were were taught outdoor
survival skills such as starting a fire with no matches as a way to improve their discipline and
self-esteem Sally and Bob bacon were intrigued by the idea of wilderness therapy they called Northstar
Expeditions and asked for a brochure northstar's base camp was located in the small Utah town of
Escalante which in 1994 was home to less than a thousand people situated in the south central part of
the state on the scenic Utah byway it was also home to stunning natural scenery Red Rock canyons and sprawling
deserts surrounded the town there were four phases to northstar's 63-day program a team was
the first phase an orientation portion for new arrivals then they graduated to primitive where they were transported
out to the Escalante River Basin and provided with backpacks sleeping bags and clothing this phase began with a 48-hour
fast after which attendees were given a week's worth of Food Supplies they had to cook their food
themselves and it mostly consisted of rice lentils oatmeal as well as some vegetables and
proteins next came the hand card's face where teens would learn to work together
as a team the Final Phase was llamas which taught Care for Animals and prepared the
youths for their return home after reading about the company and its many success stories the bacons
spoke with Northstar Representatives over the phone they were told that the camp is
hiked for around 8 to 10 hours a day then sat by a campfire at night writing in their journals and chatting about
their issues with trained experts s bacon thought this sounded perfect for Aaron he was a thoughtful
introspective boy who was content being alone and loved to write Sally could picture him sitting by
a fire scribbling away and having plenty of time for reflection while surrounded
by stunning scenery it almost sounded like it would be a vacation for him the bacons were given a list of
names of parents whom they could call to ask about their own children's EXP experiences at the
camp Sally also ran the idea by their family therapist every person Sally spoke with
was in favor of Aaron attending Northstar convinced that Northstar sounded like the right fit for Aaron
Sally and Bob decided to proceed it wasn't going to be cheap the program cost 13,00
,900 and also charged for Interstate Transportation as Aaron would be traveling over from
Arizona Northstar also said that for an extra $775 one of the organization's owners
Lance Jagger would fly to Phoenix and personally escort Aaron to the camp they recommended this approach over
parents bringing their child to Northstar as it would set the new tone for the troubled teen from the get-go
and prevent unpleasant family fights Sally and Bob agreed and took out a second mortgage on their home to fund
the costs the day before Aaron was due to be taken to Utah the couple met with Lance
Jagger and his wife Barbara at a hotel in Phoenix the four had a long meeting to
discuss the finer details of the plan Sally also wanted to voice some final concerns
Aaron was tall at just under 6 ft and thin weighing 131 lb or roughly 59 kg Sally was worried that the program
which saw teenagers receive fairly basic food might lead to him shedding weights
he couldn't afford to lose Barbara reassured Sally that they would never let any of their campers
lose weight Sally wanted to know what the protocol was when a teenager made a a complaint what if for example a camper
reported that they had been sexually abused by one of the camp leaders how would Northstar handle
that Lance and Barbara explained that if a child made a complaint someone from the North Star office would be
immediately dispatched to the location where the teens were camping to investigate the
matter but the bacons wouldn't need to worry because Aaron would be well cared for
his days would be spent in some of the most beautiful locations in the Western United States and there would be
therapists on hand for him to talk through his issues with Bob warned that Aaron wasn't the
type of person who responded well to threats or intimidation tactics a hostile approach wouldn't work on
him Lance told Bob not to worry stating I have a special gift for working with kids
they really open up to me early the next morning Lance Jagger and a colleague arrived at the bacon
residence to collect Aaron Sally and Bob had mentioned North Star as a possibility to Aaron but the
unannounced and somewhat aggressive collection process totally shocked him as Aaron still lay in bed his father
explained that the other two men in his room were there to help and he wanted Aaron to go with
them Aaron started to get up when one of the two men reached out and roughly grabbed his arm he was large and weighed
almost twice as much as the scrawny 16-year-old Aaron tried to slip out of his grasp prompting the man to take hold
of Aaron's shoulders and push him back down on the bat you're coming with me he said if I
detect any resistance I'll assume youy try to get away and I'll take the appropriate action do I make myself
clear when Aaron was escorted from his bedroom flanked by Lance and his coworker Sally could see how scared he
looked she moved to hug him goodbye but Lance didn't allow Aaron to hug his mother
back Sally kissed Aaron on the cheek and said I love you Aaron was silent after he left the home home
driven away to the airport by his handlers Bob began to cry Sally and Bob weren't allowed to
talk to Aaron while he was at Northstar they were permitted to call the head office once a week for a report
on Aaron's progress Sally typically called and would speak to either Barbara Jagger or
another staff member named to darl Bartholomew they always told her things were fine though Aaron was rebelling
somewhat Barbara said he'd tried to manipulate her while Daryl described him as belligerent and a Wier who was
refusing to carry his pack on Hikes the other kids in the program didn't like him these descriptions didn't sound like
Aaron as far as Sally was concerned but she rationalized it by telling herself the program coordinators were likely
jaded from their experience working with teenagers who really were manipulative several weeks
passed one day Sally received a call from Northstar asking her a question was it true she had a rare form
of epilepsy that could sometimes cause loss of bow control Sally affirmed that this was
true and asked why they wanted to know the staff member told her that Aaron had soiled himself and told his
Camp counselors about his mother's condition he said he was worried that he might have inherited
it this alarmed Sally she told the staff member that had never happened before and Aaron had shown no signs of having
epilepsy she couldn't understand why he would soil himself which was something that hadn't happened since he was an
infant the staff member reassured her that nothing was really wrong with Aaron teenagers in the program pulled stunts
like that all the time sometimes if they were hiking and not permitted to stop to go to the
bathroom they would soil themselves to make a statement Sally was confused she asked
why they wouldn't just be allowed to use the bathroom in the first place but was
merely told it wasn't always possible if they were tracking up a hill on the evening of Wednesday Mar
March 30 Sul called Northstar for another progress update Aaron was nearing the end of 1
month at the camp unfortunately the news wasn't positive Daryl Bartholomew told Sally
that Aaron wasn't cooperating with them and was trying to obtain other kids food
despite having his own to eat his attitude was so poor that he'd have to repeat the
program distraught by this news Sally went to bed crying that night as she lay there she prayed that things would
improve for [Music] Aaron the following day Sally was driving when she received a notification
on her pager to call North Star when she arrived home she phoned the organization's head office and spoke
to Barbara Jagger Aaron is down we can't get a pul Barbara told her Sally didn't understand what Barbara
was saying when she asked what that meant Barbara explained that Aaron had been airlifted to a hospital in paage
Arizona Sally should call her husband Bob as he had already been notified and had the hospital's
number Sally immediately called her husband at work he sounded numb and spoke directly telling Sally that
apparently there had been some sort of freak accident at the camp Aaron had collapsed possibly after eating
something poisonous Camp leaders had done all they could to revive him but nothing had
worked Aaron was [Music] dead 3 Days Later Aaron's remains arrived at a Mory in Phoenix the devastated and shocked Sally
and Bob went there to ident ify him as the sheet was removed from Aaron's body Sally covered her eyes and
began to [Music] scream when Aaron bacon first arrived at northstar's base camp he was strip
searched and given a medical exam blood and urine tests revealed he had traces of cannabis in his system but there was
nothing else of concern staff members shaved off Aaron's long hair and provided him with clothing
including a hooded sweatshirt three shirts three pairs of cotton pants socks underwear and a pair of cheap hiking
boots that were two sizes too small he was also given a journal all North Star participants had
to write in their journals daily as well as compose an essay outlining what they
had done to be sent there everything the teenagers wrote was read by North star's
staff members including letters home to loved ones in Aaron's essay he expressed his
belief that his parents were making a mistake by sending him to Northstar quote if I am forced to change this
program seems ready to force me this is not my parents last resort child abuse which I think this program is is never a
resort it only results in the opposite Aaron clashed with North star's owner Lance Jagger whose rough Hune
style was the opposite of Aaron's more intellectual personality nevertheless Aaron soon
tried to adopt a more positive approach he apologized to Lance's wife Barbara for being rude when they first met
explaining that he didn't usually behave that way but he'd been angry about the situation he found himself
in his apology was rejected by Barra who replied you're so full of [ __ ] Aaron you're trying to manipulate
[Music] me Aaron and five other new arrivals soon started the first phase of the
program 18 designed to help the teenagers acclimatize to both their physical surroundings and the program style a
team involved camping in the wilderness for 10 days they were driven out to the desert to stay in rough terrain at 5600
FT elevation in March the temperature during the day was chilly and it dropped to below freezing at
night all participants were given a backpack that they had to keep all their Provisions in including a sleeping
bag Aaron who was used to the warmer weather in Phoenix struggled with the freezing cold
climate the clothes he'd been given weren't warm enough and he described shaking uncontrollably from his arrival
on a few days into a team Aaron's stomach started to hurt badly and he had problems with his bow movements he was
also hungry and craving a proper meal most of the rations he was given such as oatmeal and lentils had to be
cooked over over an open fire the teens were each responsible for cooking their own meals and had to learn
to light their own fires using a Native American technique in which a piece of wood was inserted into a soccer to
drilled in another piece of wood and to spun quickly if a student failed to light
their own fire they weren't allowed to use another teenager's fire or sit by one to stay
warm Aaron struggled to learn the technique and was unable to start a fire consequently he often went
hungry despite not mastering Fire Starting Aaron was moved into the second phase of the program called
primitive this involved a grueling six we hike Aaron's group of six teenagers was led by three Camp counselors
employed by North star 19-year-old Craig fiser 20-year-old Sunny Duncan and 21-year-old Jeff
hollenstein only two councilors stayed with the group at any given time with the three young men rotating shifts to
take turns primitive began with the teens undertaking a 48h hour fast while simultaneously trekking through rough
terrain Aaron who still had an intense stomach ache wrote of how bad he felt but he tried to put a positive spin on
things noting that the next couple of weeks would both test my physical limitations and broaden
them the hiking was difficult it involved lots of clambering across sharp rocks and steep
Cliffs as Aaron's boots were too small for his feet he began to develop painful blisters under the weight of 45 or 20
kilo backpack he also started to trip and fall after the first fall Aaron struggled to regain his feet due to the
weight of the pack he eventually managed but soon fell again his legs felt weak like
jelly after this second fall his entire body was numb and he couldn't lift his arms when Aaron reported these issues to
his counselors they dismissed Aaron's complaints believing he was feigning discomfort and pain to get out of the
program they told him to stop being lazy the more Aaron complained about feeling sick and dizzy the more harshly
he was criticized it wasn't long before some of the other teens and even the counselors
were calling him gay using the word as a derogatory slur to imply Aaron was weak
and not masculine enough on Sunday March 13 2 days into the hik the group was permitted to break their
fast all of the teenagers were given a can of peaches but during the hike that day
Aaron continued to trip and fall at one stage when he tried to climb through a canyon he slipped and hit his
chin on a rock cutting it open Aaron wrote in his journal I'm just enveloped in pain the
staff didn't seem to care one bit after this Aaron started suffering nose beds he continued to feel the cold
intensely 2 days after his bad fall Aaron said he could no longer carry his pack the weight was just too heavy and
he wasn't strong enough to hike with it anymore the counselors refused to help so Aaron had to abandon the backpack by
the track with the intention of collecting it a couple of days later when they tracked back over the
trail because all students had to carry their own food Aaron wouldn't have access to his
rations as punishment the counselors also confiscated his sleeping bag over the next couple of days Aaron
tried to quell his hunger by eating things he and other students scavenged from the terrain a raw lizard and a
cooked scorpion he hiked a little better without his pack but still fell again breaking a large water container he was
carrying for the group his situation started to improve later on Thursday March 17 when he got
his pack back he was able to cook some rations and he got through that day's hike with no
Falls in his journal he described it as my first good day here at Northstar but the next day Aaron
struggled to cross a chest deep stream with the rest of the group he lacked the strength to lift his pack over his head
to prevent it getting wet so it and all of its contents were soaked that night he sat cold and
shivering on the fringes of the group he wasn't allowed near the fire for warmth
and had to sleep in a wet sleeping bag Aaron wrote of how scared and sick he felt in his
journal the pages were dotted with blood from his frequent nose beds and his handwriting was starting to become
illegible over the next few days things worsened Aaron had his sleeping bag confiscated again for lack of
cooperation he only had a wool blanket for war warmth and was forced to sleep away from the rest of the group who
huddled together near the fire and beneath a tarp poan he was also barred from eating
after failing to light a fire and went multiple days without food starving and still suffering
intense stomach pain Aaron started to lose control of his bladder he began urinating himself during the
night then as the group was setting out on the ninth day of the hike Aaron accidentally defecated in his
pants he hadn't even felt the need to go to the toilet it had just happened without
warning when Aaron confided in 21-year-old Jeff howenstein the most experienced of the three counselors Jeff
yelled to another counselor hey he took a dump in his pants the other counselors and group
members laughed Aaron told the counselors that he was sick and needed medical attention but
they ignored his please and accused him of Faking it they told Aaron his incontinence was proof he had no
self-respect Aaron wrote in his journal I am in terrible condition here my hands are all chapped and my lips are
cracking I feel like I am losing control of my body the next morning Aaron wasn't allowed
breakfast and instead resorted to eating some prickly pear cactus that night all of the students
had dinner withheld as punishment for being late setting up camp meanwhile the counselors had bacon and pork
chops Aaron wrote in his journal all I can think about is cold and pain I miss my family so much my
hand hands my lips and my face are dead it was his final entry Aaron wasn't allowed to wait for
the next 3 days as punishment for failing to keep his Camp cup clean and deciding to again leave his pack
behind another students secretly gave him some powdered milk mixed with brown sugar and he consumed more cactus as
well as a tea made from pine needles otherwise he had nothing members of the group could see
how listless and flat Aaron had become he was pale his cheeks looked Hollow and he had grown even thinner than he
already was Aaron continued to complain about his stomach ache and the cold but the
counsil has refused his requests to see a doctor they they gave him nothing at night to stay warm despite Aaron having
no sleeping bag or blanket due to leaving his pack behind on the evening of the hk's 14th
day Lance Jagger and his business partner Bill Henry paid a visit to the group they gave Aaron a blanket to sleep
with but refused to let him join the other group members under the shelter the next morning Lance and Bill
demanded the teenagers perform a series of exercises including 100 jumping jacks
and 100 situps Aaron could only manage 10 sit-ups by himself the council has helped him do another
25 by this stage Aaron was unable to walk much and only managed to hike a total of 2 miles he could hardly move
unless someone else helped him stand up the councilors began to let him eat again giving him some r and lentils but
he later threw them up when Aaron yet again complained about stomach pain on Monday March 28th the
councilors repeatedly accused him of mingering Aaron explained that it hurt him to eat and asked to see a
doctor they told him they were a long way away from any doctors the following day the group had
to perform a full body hygiene task with which involved stripping down and washing their clothes and
bathing the other teenagers noticed how scrawny Aaron had become later describing him as looking like a victim
from a Nazi concentration camp Aaron struggled to walk without falling down even lifting firewood was
too difficult for him he was able to eat small amounts of food but he kept moaning and saying he
was dizzy when he looked at the sky he hallucinated streaks of purple and flashing lights he also told the others
he was seeing spots on Wednesday March 30 the councilors finally requested help radioing North star's emergency medical
technician Georgette Costigan she came to the camp to check on Aron however the counselors didn't
tell her of his extensive complaints or that he'd barely eaten anything or slept
in a sleeping bag for days Georgette noticed Aaron's skin was dry and flushed but didn't perform a
medical exam figuring it was nothing serious she refused the counselor's request that she take Aaron back with
her instead saying she'd check on him again the next day she gave Aaron a slice of cheese and made him promise to
keep hiking later that evening Aaron vomited and moaned repeatedly while the other teens sat
around the fire riding in their journals he sat alone with his head tilted to one
side his mouth open and a drooling councelor Craig Fisher told him to stop it and mimicked
him that night Aaron was allowed to sleep in a sleeping bag for the first time in eight
nights before going to bed he told Craig fiser that he didn't want to die Craig assured him that he
wouldn't the next morning it took Aaron an hour to crawl the 20 ft from his sleeping bag to the
campfire he repeatedly fell asleep during this attempt to reach the group the counselors had to pick him up
off the ground as he was unable to stand on his own once he was was standing he immediately fell over
again Aaron said that he needed to use the bathroom and was unable to make it to the latrine that the group used by
himself the councilors carried him there then left Aaron alone one of the staff members radioed
Mike Hill a counselor with another group to ask if Aron could be left with them as he was unable to walk and the
emergency medical technician would be visiting Mike's group that day Mike agreed and offered to collect
Aaron with some of his campers when he arrived at the Primitive Camp he was shocked to discover Aaron
sitting inside the latrine covered with excr he had fallen in and was unable to get
up one of Aaron's counselors mocked him by imitating the way he had collapsed and told Mike that Aaron was
deliberately starving himself because he wanted to die horrified Mike and several of his
campers lifted Aaron out of the latrine and carried him to a shady spot are you doing this because you want
to die Mike asked Aaron no sir Aaron replied I don't want to die sir Mike made Aaron some oat meal but he
only managed to eat a few spoonfuls in a horar voice he told Mike that all he could see was a white
glare a Native American man from the Apache tribe Mike later said he knew then that Aaron was
dying he took out some Apache healing powder he kept in his pocket and sprinkled it around Aaron then he knelt
and prayed one of the boys camping with Mike's group began to cry sometime later Mike received a
message from Eric Henry the son of Northstar co-owner Bill Henry that he was headed their way with a truck to
collect Aaron get the faker ready Eric said when he arrived Eric lifted Aaron into the back seat as he was unable to
get up by himself then spent about 15 minutes chatting with other staff members just before 3:00 p.m. they heard
a banging sound coming from the truck Aaron was slumped unconscious his head knocked against the back
window he had no pulse and his heart had stopped Eric Henry and Mike Hill pulled
Aaron from the car and Eric radioed base camp while Mike tried to administer CPR Georgette Costigan the emergency
medical technician soon arrived at the scene and attempted to revive Aaron she was joined by the physician's assistant
who'd examined Aaron when he was first admitted to the program but didn't recognize the frail and gaunt boy in
front of him Advanced life support procedures were performed on Aaron without success Georgette repeatedly cried out
oh [ __ ] oh [ __ ] a helicopter was sent for and Aaron was flown to a hospital in Page Arizona
where he was pronounced dead when North Star Expeditions called the bacon family to inform them of
Aaron's passing they used vague language and implied there had been some sort of
tragic accident Bob bacon was left with the impression that Aaron had suddenly collapsed out of the blue perhaps after
accidentally eating some kind of poisonous vegetation but when he and Sally bacon
viewed their son's body in the morg they knew that whatever had happened was no sudden
accident in the months since they had last seen Aaron their son had grown so emaciated that his limbs resembled
toothpicks and his face was gaunt and Hollow his entire body was black and blue with bruises while his skin from
his groin to his feet was covered in Weeping open sores the the only way that they could
recognize him was from a childhood scar above his right eye Sally and Bob were horrified that
staff from Northstar had given them no warning about the state their son's body was in or what they might see when they
identified him an autopsy revealed that during the 4 weeks he'd been at the camp Aaron's
weight had dropped from 131 lb or 59 kg to 108 lb just under 49 kg this amounted to a 17% loss of body
mass many of the bruises covering his skin were from the repeated Falls he'd suffered others were from the staff
members resuscitation attempts the swords from his growing down were the result of Aaron's
incontinence which he' endured over the final two weeks of his life Aaron had ultimately died of acute
peritonitis an inflammation of the membrane that lines the abdominal wall this inflammation is caused most
commonly by bacterial infection in Aaron's case it was the result of a perforated ulcer in his
large intestine which allowed the contents of his digestive system to leak into his abdominal
cavity despite Northstar staff saying Aaron's demise had been sudden the infection was l L and extensive
indicating it had been growing over a long period it was estimated that the ulca
had most likely developed around Tuesday March 15 about 2 weeks after Aaron's arrival at
Northstar hypothermia stress and malnutrition would have all caused the ulcer to
[Music] worsen Aaron had been complaining of stomach pain since almost the beginning
of his time at Northstar if the ulcer had been diagnosed early on it could have been
cured by an over-the-counter medication if Aaron had been taken to hospital as late as the day before his
death or even hours before his final collapse his life would most likely have been saved by antibiotics and proper
Medical Care a few days after the Bacon's view to their son's body they received a call
at home from a television reporter who was also based in Phoenix and was covering Aaron's death for their
station the reporter was seeking a statement from the couple about the fact that 4 years earlier two other teenagers
had died in incidents at two separate Utah based Wilderness therapy programs both of which had direct links
to Northstar Expeditions in mid 1990 California couple Kathy and Bob suton were desperate to help with their daughter
15-year-old Michelle Michelle had been cheerful creative and trusting but her life was
upended one night when she was hanging out with friends she had been sitting in a truck
with a boy she knew from school when he sexually assaulted and raped her Michelle confided in her parents who
took her to Hospital for an examination and helped Michelle report the rape to the police but the boy was never never
charged Michelle struggled in the aftermath of the rape and her pain was exacerbated by having to see her rapist
at school every day her mother Kathy began to suspect that Michelle was experiencing Suicidal
Thoughts it was clear to the satans that their daughter needed help they tried a
few different measures including speaking to the pastor at their Church soon a family friend told them
about something that might help there was a Wilderness Therapy Program in St George Utah called Summit Quest that had
been started by a woman named Gail Palmer Gail had created the program to help teens who were struggling with
issues just like Michelle although they were initially reluctant to send their daughter away
the Suttons eventually realized that Michelle needed help that they weren't equipped to
provide Kathy contacted Gail Palmer for more information Gail was empathetic and
compassionate she explained that Summit Quest had been running for 2 years and had many satisfied customers whose
testimonials were provided the program ran for 63 days and taught teens how to survive in the
wilderness they would be led by trained survival experts who would help them build their self-esteem
Gail said that while the program was challenging it was also safe and supportive there were doctors nurses a
nutritionist and psychologist all on site who would be able to help Michelle as well as addressing physical
stamina the program built mental resilience and spiritual strength over the course of several
weeks Kathy spoke with Gail Palmer 21 times after asking every question she could think of and addressing all of her
potential doubts Kathy was convinced that Summit Quest could help Michelle regain her sense of
self she paid Gail $13,900 for Michelle's enrollment Michelle was agreeable to the
plan because she wanted to both heal and get away from the boy who raped her she left California and started the
summit Quest program on Tuesday May 1 199 9 days later Michelle was dead during an exercise her group's
counselors had gotten lost prolonging a hike in the stifling summer heat their radios were broken leaving them unable
to call for assistance and Water Supplies were limited when Michelle ran out of her
allocated water supply councilors told the other group members not to share their water with her not even when she
started throwing up falling down and complaining that her vision was blurry even as Michelle became so
dehydrated that her mouth appeared white and crusty her counselors accused her of
faking her symptoms and joked that it looked like she had been eating marshmallows after hiking over a
mountain late on the afternoon of Wednesday March 9 Michelle collapsed and died of dehydration
Summit Quest counselors couldn't alert base camp due to their broken radios so instead they had to light signal fires
to get attention it was 18 hours until a passing plane spotted them and sent help Gail Palmer subsequently smeared
the girl's name by saying Michelle had smuggled cocaine into Summit Quest and died of a drug overdose not
dehydration these claims were entirely false no criminal charges were ever laid against gaale but the Suttons later sued
suit Quest and reached a partial settlement for $345,000 in 1992 this settlement money was paid by
Summit quests in Shor despite Gail Palmer's assertions that Summit Quest attendees had access
to a psychologist no actual therapy was ever provided by the Wilderness Therapy Program the camp councilors weren't
experts in adolescent development or Wilderness survival they were mostly college students being paid minimum
wage although Gail had told Kathy satton that summer Quest was 2 years old in reality it was brand new and Michelle's
group was their first ever Summit Quest was operating under a 90-day provisional license and Gail
Palmer wasn't an experienced survivalist or child health expert prior to launching Summit Quest
she had worked in the admissions office for another Wilderness Therapy Program the testimonials from satisfied
parents and teens that she'd shared with Kathy saton had been taken from that business which was called
Challenger Challenger was founded in 1987 by entrepreneur Steve cardano after a career in the
military Steve cardano was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latterday saints and a former student at Utah's
Brigham Young University in the 1970s BYU introduced its own Wilderness Therapy Program for
college students this course lasted several weeks taught basic survival skills and
encouraged students to reflect on their goals while living in the wilderness it was very successful until
1975 when a female participant died of dehydration after that BYU ceased offering the
program Steve cardano had completed the program when he was a student and had loved it his experience inspired him to
start his own program aimed at younger participants in Escalante Utah he dubbed it Cher and it set the
Benchmark for what the Wilderness therapy industry would become in Utah and surrounding
states teenagers had to complete arduous hikes were given scant food and water and were verbally berated under the
guise of tough love counselors were taught to distrust the teens they LED with Steve cardano
describing them as master manipulators who would Fain injuries or illness to get out of the program
Challenger quickly took off thanks in part to Steve cardano's decision to promote the program on daytime
television talk shows such as Sally Jesse Raphael and Heraldo many parents in the late 1980s
and early 90s harbored concerns about their children ending up on the wrong path this was due in part to moral
panics around drug use street gangs and supposed satanic Cults Steve cardano's message reached a
lot of concerned parents who were desperate to help their children many took out second mortgages
so they could afford the $15,900 price tag Challenger was cheap to run all that was required with some camping equipment
and lowcost foods like oats and lentils Steve cardano also set the model for hiring young people to work as
counselors and paying them minimum wage with lots of money coming in and very little going out Challenger made $3.2
million in its first year of operation after Gail Palmer started her own Wilderness Therapy Program which
resulted in Michelle Sutton's Death Steve cardano publicly accused his ex-employee of criminal negligence
telling journalists at Challenger a tragedy like the one that killed Michelle suton could
never happen 6 weeks later 16-year-old Kristen Chase left her home in Florida to attend
Challenger she wasn't given a physical exam upon being admitted to the program but her mother did provide them with
extensive medical records which included difficulty running a knee injury and a history of coughing up a
blood on Tuesday June 26 just a few days into her program Kristen collapsed after
a 5em hike counselors had dismissed Kristen's complaints of feeling unwell denied her
water and ridiculed her Kristen died of exertional heat stroke it took more than 2 hours for
help to arrive this time authorities in Utah laid criminal charges Kane County Prosecutors charged
Steve cardano and an employee who went by the name horse haare with negligent homicide and nine counts of child abuse
relating to Christen and other Challenger attendees horir subsequently agreed to
testify against cardano in exchange for having his own charges dismissed at cardano's trial more than a
year later in September 1991 Challenger employees gave evidence that students were beaten and treated abusively while
under their care but before the jury could deliberate a mistrial was called due to
the judge having failed to read the charges to them at the beginning of the trial 8 months later there was a
retrial the jury ultimately acquitted Steve cardano after determining that the prosecution hadn't done enough to prove
he was guilty one juror later spoke out saying that they had all agreed there were
issues with the program Steve cardano had actually told one former Stafa that it was inevitable
some teens undertaking Wilderness programs would die he'd referred to this likelihood as a window of loss stating
we're going to help so many kids that it's worth the loss of a few an ongoing problem with Utah's
Wilderness therapy programs was the lack of State regulation and oversight Wilderness therapy falls under
a broader category of behavior modification facilities known collectively as the troubled teen
industry aimed at parents who have concerns about their adolescent children's behavior these facilities
take many forms they can be boot camps treatment centers or Wilderness therapy they're also marketed as being
able to solve numerous issues the parents may be worried about including drug use sexuality Behavior deemed
disrespectful or playing too many video games when Steve cardano started Challenger the troubled teen industry
was a burgeoning one there were no federal laws in place to regulate it meaning the situation varied from state
to state in January 1990 new regulations were drafted in Utah dictating that all
wilderness therapy participants must first pass a physical exam by a doctor and be provided with a minimum amount of
water each day Michelle Sutton and Kristen Chase both died shortly before these regulations were set to take effect in
July 1990 in the wake of their deaths the state of Utah passed a law requiring all
Wilderness therapy programs to be licensed by the Department of Health and Human Service services and also began
drafting stricter regulations they were helped in this by some who'd worked within the industry
including ex Challenger employee horsehair at the same time horsehair whose real name was Lance Jagger decided
to start his own Wilderness Therapy Program alongside fellow former Challenger colleague Bill
Henry in October 199 the two men were granted a license by the state of Utah to begin their new
business North Star [Music] Expeditions Aaron Bacon's parents had not known about the earlier Wilderness
therapy deaths let alone that Lance Jagger was criminally charged for one 4 days after Aaron died he was buried in
his hometown of Phoenix on Monday April 4 a few days later Sally and Bob bacon drove to Utah to see the location where
he had died they also met with the County Sheriff Deputy Sheriff and the County prosecutor Bob asked whether his son's
death would be investigated the prosecutor said that it would when the police first arrived at
Northstar following Aaron's passing they hadn't believed that the death was suspicious all of the Northstar
employees and staff they spoke to said that Aaron collapsed out of the blue staff members had made every effort to
revive him but the investigators were aware that Aaron's death was the third time a teenager had died while enrolled
in a Utah Wilderness Therapy Program consequently they would have to look into the circumstances very
carefully even if nothing seemed a Miss Aaron's fellow campers were asked to provide written statements about his
death and the deputy sheriff Celeste Bernards also seized their journals she also had Aaron's own
journal in her possession the picture painted by Aaron's words was vastly different to
one given by Camp counselors according to Aaron's version of events he had been complaining about
ill health since almost the start of the program only to be mocked dismissed and
even punished over the next few months Deputy Bernards carefully scrutinized the other
students journals they had also written about Aaron's deteriorating health and how he
had been treated and their descriptions matched his Deputy Bernards added up crucial
details in their accounts such as how Aaron was punished by having food withheld during interviews the other
teenagers in Aaron's group said that sometimes they'd tried to help him by sneaking in food and sharing their
blankets but usually they were too scared to do so due to the punishments that would follow if
caught Deputy Bernards crosschecked the Camp's claims against provable data such
as what the temperature and weather conditions were during Aaron's month at North
star she calculated that Aaron had been forced to sleep 14 nights in the desert without a sleeping
bag for four of these nights he didn't even have a blanket he had been deprived of food
entirely for a total of 11 days these punishments were in direct violation of northstar's own code of
conduct when they were hired every counselor at Northstar received received a copy of the company's policies and
procedures manual which they had to read and sign a page titled discipline and treatment of the student read in
part the following is not appropriate treatment of a student and his grounds for
dismissal the withholding of any meal denial of clothing shelter or bedding failure to provide adequate Medical Care
Andor treatment verbal abuse using language which attacks the well-being of the student this may include but is not
limited to name calling teasing humiliation ridicule use of foul and abusive language
Etc Deputy Bernards looked into northstar's finances the business grossed roughly
$1.68 million per year with between 1 and 1.5 million being pure profit they were able to make this much
thanks to their minor outlays and underqualified staff despite Northstar assuring parents
that all their staff were trained in therapy and Wilderness skills most Camp counselors they hired were barely out of
school and hadn't undergone criminal background checks they also claimed to have a camp
psychologist named doc Dave who was on hand to help kids in reality Dr Dave was a social worker
who only met the teens once when they first arrived at Northstar investigators were concerned
about the conditions teenagers at Northstar were being forced to endure the camp had been checked in the
weeks after Aaron died and was found to be fully complying with Utah's regulations but the police still had
their doubts in early September they conducted a surprise inspection of northstar's
headquarters with two doctors a psychologist and a nurse examining the 21 adolescents who were in their
care they determined that three girls staying with Northstar weren't well enough to continue with the
program they were removed and had to stay with Foster families until their Guardians could take them
home Northstar continued to operate for its other campers when LA Times journalist Joe morgenstein
contacted an Northstar co-founder Lance Jagger following this development he described the inspection as a Witch
Hunt he thought it was ridiculous that investigators were listening to quote solely the words of the
kids North Star representatives were adamant that there was no way they could have known about Aaron's condition
one spokesperson even claimed he hadn't been deprived of food but instead rejected the food offered to
him co-owner Bill Henry blamed Aaron Bacon's cannabis usage for his death insisting he must have had his ulcer for
a long time but his history of smoking pot must have masked the pain Joe morganstein fact checked this
claim with doctors who said that nothing could have covered the pain of a perforated ulca
just over a month after the surprise inspection of Northstar prosecutors charged Lance Jagger Bill Henry and six
of their employees with felony child abuse charges Georgette costan the Camp's emergency medical technician was also
charged with witness tampering according to Mike Hill the counselor for another group who had
tried to help Aaron in his final moments she had tried to convince some of the students to revise their written
statements for the Sheriff's Office to make them look less incriminating these charges against
Georgette Costigan were later dropped due to a lack of evidence the prosecutors had other
problems that would make pursuing the case difficult although 22-year-old Northstar
employee Mike Hill had tried to help Aaron he soon confessed that he'd committed a crime against another camper
in December 1993 he had sexually abused a 17-year-old boy in a previous program and made him perform sex acts in
exchange for food this crime completely undermined Hill's credibility as a witness Hill subsequently pleaded guilty
to one count of forcible sexual abuse he had been the only North Star staff member willing to testify against
the company but the prosecutors knew they could no longer use him however two of Aaron's fellow
campers were willing to testify and did so at a preliminary hearing in closing arguments a lawyer
for the prosecution stated once it was decided that Aaron was a faker a manipulator that was the
party line at Northstar they said we ignore Aaron because he's faking I don't know how you fake a 23b
weight loss in 24 days following the hearing all of the defendants were ordered to stand
trial eventually most of the defendants struck play deals that saw their felony charges
reduced five of them pleaded guilty to negligent homicide which is a class A misdemeanor in
Utah those who accepted this play included two of Aaron's counselors Sunny Duncan and to Jeff howenstein emergency
medical technician Georgette Costigan and to Northstar co-owners Lance Jagger and Bill
Henry Jagger and Henry also pleaded guilty to operating a program that violated licensing
regulations these defendants were given a 1-year suspended sentence 3 years probation and ordered to each pay a
$25,000 fine they were also ordered to perform community service the sixth defendant pleaded
guilty to a lesser charge of attempting to abuse a disabled child Aaron bacon fit the legal
definition of being a disabled child as his physical illness that began shortly after he arrived at Northstar left him
unable to care for himself this defendant received probation and community service and the seventh defendant was
permitted to sign a diversion program agreement in exchange for 9 months of good
behavior but the final defendant refused to cut a [Music] deal Craig fiser had been just a 19 when
he'd had to care for Aaron as one of his three rotating Camp counselors he had demonstrated a rather
belligerent attitude during the preliminary hearing with Sally bacon reporting that when the judge wasn't
looking Fisher had looked at her sneered and given her the finger while his codefendants had been
convinced to accept plea agreements to avoid a long trial and harsher charges fer rejected the idea
outright he went to trial facing the third degree felony charge of abuse or neglect of a disabled child some of
aon's fellow campers were called as witnesses as were the other Northstar employees who'd pleaded out Aaron
Bacon's parents also testified Craig Fisher's attorney argued that his client had merely been
following the orders of his superiors and had no real say in how Aaron bacon was to be
treated when his client had responded to Aaron's complaints by yelling at him he'
had just been trying to help him it didn't take the jury long to find Craig Fisher guilty
after his conviction Fisher went to hug Sally bacon telling her he'd had no idea
how sick Aaron had really been Sally replied that even if he hadn't known how unwell Aaron was he
hadn't done anything to help him she told Fisher that she hoped he would learn from the tragedy and would never
again treat another human that badly then she hugged him back in a display of forgiveness
when it came time for Craig fiser to be sentenced his attorney pointed to this hug as a sign of his client's
remorse this left Sally feeling used and when she stood to read her Victim Impact
statement she made sure to mention how Fisher had previously glared at her and given the
finger fer was ultimately sentenced to one year in a county jail he appealed his conviction and
lost Fisher was later released after serving only a few months of his sentence Sally and Bob bacon filed a
civil suit against Northstar which was settled out of court and paid by the defendant's insurance
companies the couple also became Crusaders against the Wilderness therapy industry speaking out in the news and on
television programs about how they were misled and what their son's experience had been
they also demanded stronger legislation and Industry oversight in an interview with the Salt
Lake Tribune Bob bacon stated the ignorance arrogance incompetence callousness and greed of
the people running these programs is proving repeatedly to be dangerous abusive and even
fatal the lessons are not being learned the bacons faced harsh push back from Wilderness therapy Advocates who victim
blamed and smeared their family's name by claiming Aaron Sul and Bob were all drug
addicts parents of other children who'd been enrolled at Wilderness therapy camps were among those critiquing the
couple 6 months after Aaron's death the state of Utah revoked North star's license and the camp was permanently
shut down some parents were Furious about this with one mother asking Sally where did you think you were
sending him a dayare Sally later told author Maya salivit about this interaction and
added they wanted a boot camp and that's what they were sold I didn't want a boot
camp so that's what I was sold and see that's what they didn't understand these people sell you whatever you're looking
for in her 2006 book help at any cost how the troubled teen industry con's parents and hurts KIDS Maya salivit
noted that at least nine other children had died in Wilderness therapy programs in the Years following Aaron's death
most of these deaths occurred when teenages were denied requests for water food or medical
attention that that number has increased in the years since salv vit's book was published with nonprofit organization
breaking code silence counting more than 30 Wilderness therapy deaths since 1990
and 175 in the troubled teen industry overall one occurred as recently as February 2024 when a 12-year-old boy was
founded dead at a camp in North Carolina other abuses aren't fatal but still resulted in
trauma children have been forced to perform manual labor ordered to attack one another verbally in order to gain
Privileges and sexually assaulted other abuses have included the denial of basic hygiene and sanitary
items and forcing teens to march with their ankles tied until their feet bled in one instance a girl was made to
dress as a sex worker and given a name tag that read shameful SL the boys in her group were told to call
her [ __ ] ho and [ __ ] some teenages were forced to wear diapers gagged with Sanitary products
and ordered to clean toilets with their bare hands there have been numerous cases of
teenagers suiciding while in treatment programs or coming to harm after trying to run away from
one although different states have passed laws Rel relating to the troubl teen industry over the years a lack of
Regulation and oversight has meant that teenagers have continued to suffer at the hands of unqualified and abusive
individuals in 2020 the industry was in the National Spotlight again when media personality Paris Hilton spoke out
publicly about her experience at Provo Canyon School an involuntary Residential Treatment Center for teens in Provo Utah
in the late 1990s when Hilton was 16 she had gone through a rebellious phase her
parents eventually sent her to a Wilderness therapy camp and later Provo Canyon School in the hopes it would
correct her behavior Hilton stayed at Provo Canyon school for 11 months and was released
around the time she turned 18 she has testified before Congress about her experiences in these troubled
team programs stating these programs promised healing growth and support but instead did not
allow me to speak move freely or even look out a window for 2 years I was forced for had medications
and sexually abused by the staff I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways stripped naked and thrown into
solitary confinement my parents were completely deceived lied to to and manipulated by
this for-profit industry about the inhumane treatment I was experiencing Paris Hilton's Revelations
led to others coming forward to share their stories on social media as well as increased attention from journalists and
the public Hilton subsequently worked with Utah lawmakers on a new law aimed at improving industry
regulation it came into effect in March 2021 under this law troubled team programs
have to submit to more annual inspections and Report use of physical restraints to the utar office of
Licensing as of 2024 there is still no federal overide of the troubled teen industry and there are more than 10,000
such programs operating in the United States Utah has more of these facilities than anywhere else in the world the this
is due in part to the state's strict parental laws which supports parents making decisions for their children over
a Minor's personal wishes while many states have now made it illegal to hold teenagers in such
programs against their will this is not the case in Utah it's estimated that the industry
still brings the state almost half a billion dollar in Revenue each year the individuals who were charged for the
death of Aaron bacon moved on with their lives Northstar co-owner Bill Henry violated the terms of his probation by
only completing 86 hours of community service instead of the court ordered 1440 hours he then violated It Again by
moving into state to Oregon where his wife had been hired by another Wilderness Therapy
Program the couple's son Eric Henry was later hired by the same company while still on probation for his role in Aaron
Bacon's death in 2023 streaming platform Netflix released a documentary about Wilderness
therapy titled hell Camp which focused primarily on the programs led by Steve cardano Lance Jagger appeared in the
documentary to talk about his time as an employee at cardano's program Challenger now well into his middle age
and wearing a breathing tube Jagger stated we didn't break them down to punish them we broke them down to get
rid of the old crap and help them be a better and more positive person some of the kids were so scared
they'd almost pass out and that was fine by me I wanted them to have a little fear Aaron Bacon's parents still feel
that the adults invol involved in their son's death paid too small a price for their role in his
demise they have spoken out against Lance Jagger's assertion that he's providing tough love with Sally bacon
telling ABC News you can do tough love as a parent because you love the child they can do
tough they can't do love police gave Sally and Bob their son's Journal after they had copied its
contents as evidence the entries were painful for the couple to read as they detailed
Aaron's physical decline in excruciating detail as well as his emotional pain some pages were dotted with Aaron's
blood but there were also lines that spoke of Aaron's love for his family in one early entry he reflected
on his goodbye before being taken into Northstar and wrote wrot I should have told them that I love
them and I'm sorry I didn't I didn't even hug them and that was terrible I sure wish I could hug them
and tell them I love them now [Music] [Music] for

Case 296: Aaron Bacon *** Content warnings: Child abuse, sexual assault ***

On an early morning in March 1994, two strange men entered 16-year-old Aaron Bacon’s bedroom and told him they were there to take him away. Aaron’s parents had signed him up for a 63-day wilderness therapy program called North Star Expeditions in the hopes that some time following a disciplined routine in the natural world would help Aaron kick his drug habit and regain his focus. But none of them had any idea what lay in store…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Aaron Bacon died due to neglect at a Wilderness therapy camp, sparking outrage and calls for industry reform.

Key points

Aaron's Troubling Behavior. Aaron's descent into drug use and rebellion worries his parents, prompting drastic measures.
The Decision for Wilderness Therapy. The Bacons consider a wilderness therapy camp for Aaron, hoping to guide him back to stability.
Tragic Outcome at Northstar. Aaron's time at Northstar ends in tragedy when he collapses and dies after a freak accident.
Aaron's Struggles Intensify. Aaron faces increasing physical challenges and neglect from counselors during the hike.
Descent into Despair. Aaron's condition worsens as he faces starvation and humiliation.
Final Moments. Aaron's health deteriorates rapidly, leading to a tragic end.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I love you, but we're going to have to make some changes today.

Aaron's father before taking him to the camp

1:28WatchSep 14, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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