D.A. Will Not File Criminal Charges Against Wilderness Camp Where 12-Year-Old Died of Suffocation

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Fox Carolina

Fox Carolina

“The investigation revealed that Clark Harman’s death was the result of suffocation, which, while tragic, did not involve criminal intent or recklessness sufficient to warrant criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter under the law,” Murray said on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Harman, of New York, wasfound unresponsiveat the western North Carolina wilderness therapy camp for troubled adolescents on Feb. 3.

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A representative with the district attorney’s office did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment. PEOPLE also attempted to make contact with Trails Carolina, which is now closed, for a comment on the decision.

Harman was sleeping in a one-person nylon tent called a bivy.

Camp protocol required each bivy to have an opening that holds an “alarm” to notify cabin counselors if the occupant tries to exit, according to the report.

Because the internal mesh on the boy’s bivy was torn, the camp used the “weather-resistant door” on the outer layer of the bivy to secure the boy inside of it, the report stated. The outer layer of the bivy was opaque, meaning counselors who checked on him throughout the night couldn’t actually see him, the report stated.

He “stopped moving” inside the bivy around 1 a.m., according to the report. When emergency personnel arrived after being called around 8 a.m., they determined he had likely been dead for a few hours, the report stated.

The camp has said it had conducted an internal investigation of the incident, which “concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy,” perFox Carolina.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services later removed all children from the camp and its license was revoked, theObserverandCNNreported.

source: people.com