WNC camp appeals license revocation by state officials after 12-year-old camper death

A high-end outdoor therapy camp is once again trying to stop the state from revoking its license by filing a petition with the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings on July 8, about eight days before its license is set to be taken after the death of a 12-year-old camper.

Trails Carolina, based in the Transylvania County community of Lake Toxaway, more than an hour from Asheville, submitted a petition for a contested hearing to challenge the revocation of its operating license, a spokesperson with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed with the Citizen Times July 12.

“NC DHHS does not comment on pending litigation,” spokesperson Hannah Jones said. “We suspended their admissions and then sent them a notice to revoke their license. They cannot operate at this time.”

The closed therapy camp claims N.C. DHHS’s move to revoke its license was “without a reasonable or sufficient basis” and is “detrimental to the health or safety of the children who would otherwise be in (Trails Carolina’s) care.”

More: State: despite corrective action will revoke Western NC camp license after NY child death

N.C. DHHS “exceeded its authority, acted erroneously, failed to use proper procedure, and acted arbitrarily and capriciously in its investigation and suspension of admissions,” the petition stated.

Trails Carolina Executive Director Jeremy Whitworth was put on notice of the “intent to revoke” in a May 17 letter sent by N.C. Mental Health Licensure and Certification Section Chief Robin Sulfridge. The letter stated DHHS found five deficiencies under state regulations.

The camp then had 60 days to file this petition. The license is also set to be revoked after that same period. A spokesperson for Trails Carolina declined to comment on the petition.

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These sanctions follow the Feb. 3 death of a 12-year-old camper, whose autopsy concluded he died of asphyxiation because of the way camp staff had him situated in a single-person tent called a “bivy.” The camp was temporarily shut down by state health regulators the following week and in April lost its accreditation from Association for Experiential Education, a nonprofit certifying organization.

An N.C. DHHS report released in the spring revealed interviews with staff who felt they and the camp were at fault for the death. In its plan of correction sent to the state this spring, Trails Carolina detailed how it would avoid future harm to campers, but it also pushed back on some findings saying the plan’s submission “does not indicate full agreement.”

The boy was the second camper to die since 2014. Two former campers have sued in federal court, saying Trails Carolina failed to protect them from sexual assault by other campers. 

Despite its petition, Trails Carolina still cannot operate, and the license revocation is still effective, DHHS spokesperson Kelly Conner said.

“They are appealing that,” Connor said over email July 12. “The (Office of Administrative Hearings) appeal process will now happen, and decision made on the revocation.”

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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober