A Western North Carolina district attorney has decided not to file charges related to the death of a 12-year old boy at a wilderness camp in February.
Twelve-year old Clark Harman suffocated at the Trails Carolina Wilderness Camp in Transylvania County. Since then state regulators have shut down the camp for health and safety concerns. The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death, and this week, district attorney Andrew Murray said the office will not pursue involuntary manslaughter charges. In a statement Murray said it’s clear that "Harman suffocated while being required to occupy a personal sleeping bivy his first night at the camp."
But prosecutors also said that while four camp counselors heard Harman make sounds from his sleeping bag, none said they heard someone saying I can’t breathe or help.
The minors that were also in the cabin were interviewed and noted that Harman was upset about having to sleep in the bivy. In 2014, a teenage boy attending the camp ran away and was found dead after falling from a tree.
