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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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and for a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
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[Music] website at around 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday March 1 1994 16-year-old Aaron bacon lay
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sleeping in his bed in the home where he lived with his parents in Phoenix Arizona the quiet of the early morning
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hour was br broken by a high pitched noise outside Aaron's closed bedroom door one of the family's three pet
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Sharpes was whining the sound woke Aaron and soon he heard their other two dogs start to
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growl and bark as well Aaron's bedroom door suddenly swung open and three men walked in two of them
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were strangers who Aaron had never seen before the third was his father as Aaron l confused and stunned
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in bed his father said Aaron I love you but we're going to have to make some changes today
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[Music] [Music] Sally and Bob bacon had been worried about their youngest son for some time
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Aaron had always been a bright talented and exceptionally empathetic child when he was little his mother had discovered
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that he was making peanut butter sandwiches and leaving them out for unhoused people who lived in the same
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historic district of Phoenix that they called home he stood up for kids at school who
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were being Bor and he was passionate about music and writing poetry but things had slowly started to
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change when Aron was in the eighth grade the problems began when his brother Jared 3 years older than Aaron
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and the only other child of Sally and Bob bacon began experimenting with recreational
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drugs Aaron was unhappy about this his father Bob was a recovering alcoholic by 1994 he had been sober for
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8 and 1/2 years and was doing well with a thriving career as an architect and a designer Bob had always been very
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upfront with his sons about this teaching them about the dangers of addiction yet when Jared started using
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drugs neither Bob nor Sally confronted him about it which upset Aaron Jared eventually asked his mother
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for help and his parents sent them to a respected rehab facility in Minnesota The Experience didn't seem to change
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Jared's behavior and he continued to smoke cannabis after leaving the facility he eventually stopped using
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drugs on his own a few years later but 6 months after Jared had entered rehab Aaron began to experiment
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for himself he started smoking cannabis and taking psychedelics Aaron had always been a top
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student but his grades began to drop he campaigned to be allowed to change schools leaving the exclusive private
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school he attended for a public one called Central High Aaron told his parents he felt
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stifled by his current school and wanted to study somewhere with a more diverse student
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body his girlfriend also attended Central High adding to its appeal Sally and Bob had agreed but were
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disappointed when the switch didn't seem to make Aaron any happier or more settled in fact his behavior grew worse
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he would take the family car out at night without permission getting into minor scrapes and later denying it when
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his parents noticed the damage Aaron was increasingly withdrawn and irritable no longer confiding in his
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mother as he once had the final straw came in February of 1994 when Aaron was attacked by members
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of a street gang in his school parking lot witnesses to the assault said that it didn't appear to be a random incident
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it looked like the gang members knew Aaron they had called him rabbit a nickname that suggested
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familiarity Sally and Bob wondered if Aaron was in fact an associate of the gang he was now smoking pot regularly
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what if the attack had been drug related concern that their youngest son might have escalated from taking drugs
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to selling them Sally and Bob knew they had to do something as soon as possible they pulled Aaron out of school
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and considered their options they were already in Family Therapy which they'd started after Aaron started stealing
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their car Sally and Bob did not want to send Aaron to a rehab facility as they had
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with their oldest son Sally had realized that the reason the facility hadn't helped Jared was likely because he
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didn't have an actual addiction the same was true for Aaron he just needed some guidance to set him on a better
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course then Sally remembered something she'd heard about from a friend her friend had told her about a
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Wilderness therapy Camp designed especially for troubled teens located in the southern region of
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Utah Sally's friend knew a couple who had sent their rebellious son there and he'd reportedly emerged with a wonderful
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new attitude the program was called North Star Expeditions Northstar had been founded
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four years earlier by a former military policeman named Lance Jagger it was one of many such camps
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that had sprung up in Utah and other Western United States during the 1980s and '90s
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in fact it was estimated that there were roughly 115 organizations that offered Wilderness programs designed to assist
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so-called troubled youths across the entire country away from televisions computer
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games and Friends deemed to be a bad influence teenagers who attended these programs could reconnect with the
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natural world via long difficult hikes and sleeping outside they were were taught outdoor
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survival skills such as starting a fire with no matches as a way to improve their discipline and
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self-esteem Sally and Bob bacon were intrigued by the idea of wilderness therapy they called Northstar
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Expeditions and asked for a brochure northstar's base camp was located in the small Utah town of
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Escalante which in 1994 was home to less than a thousand people situated in the south central part of
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the state on the scenic Utah byway it was also home to stunning natural scenery Red Rock canyons and sprawling
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deserts surrounded the town there were four phases to northstar's 63-day program a team was
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the first phase an orientation portion for new arrivals then they graduated to primitive where they were transported
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out to the Escalante River Basin and provided with backpacks sleeping bags and clothing this phase began with a 48-hour
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fast after which attendees were given a week's worth of Food Supplies they had to cook their food
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themselves and it mostly consisted of rice lentils oatmeal as well as some vegetables and
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proteins next came the hand card's face where teens would learn to work together
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as a team the Final Phase was llamas which taught Care for Animals and prepared the
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youths for their return home after reading about the company and its many success stories the bacons
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spoke with Northstar Representatives over the phone they were told that the camp is
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hiked for around 8 to 10 hours a day then sat by a campfire at night writing in their journals and chatting about
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their issues with trained experts s bacon thought this sounded perfect for Aaron he was a thoughtful
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introspective boy who was content being alone and loved to write Sally could picture him sitting by
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a fire scribbling away and having plenty of time for reflection while surrounded
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by stunning scenery it almost sounded like it would be a vacation for him the bacons were given a list of
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names of parents whom they could call to ask about their own children's EXP experiences at the
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camp Sally also ran the idea by their family therapist every person Sally spoke with
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was in favor of Aaron attending Northstar convinced that Northstar sounded like the right fit for Aaron
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Sally and Bob decided to proceed it wasn't going to be cheap the program cost 13,00
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,900 and also charged for Interstate Transportation as Aaron would be traveling over from
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Arizona Northstar also said that for an extra $775 one of the organization's owners
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Lance Jagger would fly to Phoenix and personally escort Aaron to the camp they recommended this approach over
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parents bringing their child to Northstar as it would set the new tone for the troubled teen from the get-go
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and prevent unpleasant family fights Sally and Bob agreed and took out a second mortgage on their home to fund
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the costs the day before Aaron was due to be taken to Utah the couple met with Lance
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Jagger and his wife Barbara at a hotel in Phoenix the four had a long meeting to
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discuss the finer details of the plan Sally also wanted to voice some final concerns
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Aaron was tall at just under 6 ft and thin weighing 131 lb or roughly 59 kg Sally was worried that the program
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which saw teenagers receive fairly basic food might lead to him shedding weights
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he couldn't afford to lose Barbara reassured Sally that they would never let any of their campers
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lose weight Sally wanted to know what the protocol was when a teenager made a a complaint what if for example a camper
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reported that they had been sexually abused by one of the camp leaders how would Northstar handle
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that Lance and Barbara explained that if a child made a complaint someone from the North Star office would be
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immediately dispatched to the location where the teens were camping to investigate the
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matter but the bacons wouldn't need to worry because Aaron would be well cared for
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his days would be spent in some of the most beautiful locations in the Western United States and there would be
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therapists on hand for him to talk through his issues with Bob warned that Aaron wasn't the
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type of person who responded well to threats or intimidation tactics a hostile approach wouldn't work on
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him Lance told Bob not to worry stating I have a special gift for working with kids
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they really open up to me early the next morning Lance Jagger and a colleague arrived at the bacon
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residence to collect Aaron Sally and Bob had mentioned North Star as a possibility to Aaron but the
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unannounced and somewhat aggressive collection process totally shocked him as Aaron still lay in bed his father
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explained that the other two men in his room were there to help and he wanted Aaron to go with
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them Aaron started to get up when one of the two men reached out and roughly grabbed his arm he was large and weighed
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almost twice as much as the scrawny 16-year-old Aaron tried to slip out of his grasp prompting the man to take hold
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of Aaron's shoulders and push him back down on the bat you're coming with me he said if I
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detect any resistance I'll assume youy try to get away and I'll take the appropriate action do I make myself
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clear when Aaron was escorted from his bedroom flanked by Lance and his coworker Sally could see how scared he
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looked she moved to hug him goodbye but Lance didn't allow Aaron to hug his mother
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back Sally kissed Aaron on the cheek and said I love you Aaron was silent after he left the home home
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driven away to the airport by his handlers Bob began to cry Sally and Bob weren't allowed to
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talk to Aaron while he was at Northstar they were permitted to call the head office once a week for a report
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on Aaron's progress Sally typically called and would speak to either Barbara Jagger or
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another staff member named to darl Bartholomew they always told her things were fine though Aaron was rebelling
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somewhat Barbara said he'd tried to manipulate her while Daryl described him as belligerent and a Wier who was
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refusing to carry his pack on Hikes the other kids in the program didn't like him these descriptions didn't sound like
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Aaron as far as Sally was concerned but she rationalized it by telling herself the program coordinators were likely
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jaded from their experience working with teenagers who really were manipulative several weeks
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passed one day Sally received a call from Northstar asking her a question was it true she had a rare form
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of epilepsy that could sometimes cause loss of bow control Sally affirmed that this was
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true and asked why they wanted to know the staff member told her that Aaron had soiled himself and told his
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Camp counselors about his mother's condition he said he was worried that he might have inherited
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it this alarmed Sally she told the staff member that had never happened before and Aaron had shown no signs of having
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epilepsy she couldn't understand why he would soil himself which was something that hadn't happened since he was an
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infant the staff member reassured her that nothing was really wrong with Aaron teenagers in the program pulled stunts
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like that all the time sometimes if they were hiking and not permitted to stop to go to the
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bathroom they would soil themselves to make a statement Sally was confused she asked
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why they wouldn't just be allowed to use the bathroom in the first place but was
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merely told it wasn't always possible if they were tracking up a hill on the evening of Wednesday Mar
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March 30 Sul called Northstar for another progress update Aaron was nearing the end of 1
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month at the camp unfortunately the news wasn't positive Daryl Bartholomew told Sally
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that Aaron wasn't cooperating with them and was trying to obtain other kids food
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despite having his own to eat his attitude was so poor that he'd have to repeat the
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program distraught by this news Sally went to bed crying that night as she lay there she prayed that things would
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improve for [Music] Aaron the following day Sally was driving when she received a notification
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on her pager to call North Star when she arrived home she phoned the organization's head office and spoke
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to Barbara Jagger Aaron is down we can't get a pul Barbara told her Sally didn't understand what Barbara
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was saying when she asked what that meant Barbara explained that Aaron had been airlifted to a hospital in paage
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Arizona Sally should call her husband Bob as he had already been notified and had the hospital's
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number Sally immediately called her husband at work he sounded numb and spoke directly telling Sally that
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apparently there had been some sort of freak accident at the camp Aaron had collapsed possibly after eating
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something poisonous Camp leaders had done all they could to revive him but nothing had
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worked Aaron was [Music] dead 3 Days Later Aaron's remains arrived at a Mory in Phoenix the devastated and shocked Sally
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and Bob went there to ident ify him as the sheet was removed from Aaron's body Sally covered her eyes and
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began to [Music] scream when Aaron bacon first arrived at northstar's base camp he was strip
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searched and given a medical exam blood and urine tests revealed he had traces of cannabis in his system but there was
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nothing else of concern staff members shaved off Aaron's long hair and provided him with clothing
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including a hooded sweatshirt three shirts three pairs of cotton pants socks underwear and a pair of cheap hiking
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boots that were two sizes too small he was also given a journal all North Star participants had
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to write in their journals daily as well as compose an essay outlining what they
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had done to be sent there everything the teenagers wrote was read by North star's
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staff members including letters home to loved ones in Aaron's essay he expressed his
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belief that his parents were making a mistake by sending him to Northstar quote if I am forced to change this
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program seems ready to force me this is not my parents last resort child abuse which I think this program is is never a
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resort it only results in the opposite Aaron clashed with North star's owner Lance Jagger whose rough Hune
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style was the opposite of Aaron's more intellectual personality nevertheless Aaron soon
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tried to adopt a more positive approach he apologized to Lance's wife Barbara for being rude when they first met
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explaining that he didn't usually behave that way but he'd been angry about the situation he found himself
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in his apology was rejected by Barra who replied you're so full of [ __ ] Aaron you're trying to manipulate
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[Music] me Aaron and five other new arrivals soon started the first phase of the
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program 18 designed to help the teenagers acclimatize to both their physical surroundings and the program style a
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team involved camping in the wilderness for 10 days they were driven out to the desert to stay in rough terrain at 5600
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FT elevation in March the temperature during the day was chilly and it dropped to below freezing at
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night all participants were given a backpack that they had to keep all their Provisions in including a sleeping
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bag Aaron who was used to the warmer weather in Phoenix struggled with the freezing cold
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climate the clothes he'd been given weren't warm enough and he described shaking uncontrollably from his arrival
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on a few days into a team Aaron's stomach started to hurt badly and he had problems with his bow movements he was
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also hungry and craving a proper meal most of the rations he was given such as oatmeal and lentils had to be
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cooked over over an open fire the teens were each responsible for cooking their own meals and had to learn
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to light their own fires using a Native American technique in which a piece of wood was inserted into a soccer to
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drilled in another piece of wood and to spun quickly if a student failed to light
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their own fire they weren't allowed to use another teenager's fire or sit by one to stay
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warm Aaron struggled to learn the technique and was unable to start a fire consequently he often went
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hungry despite not mastering Fire Starting Aaron was moved into the second phase of the program called
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primitive this involved a grueling six we hike Aaron's group of six teenagers was led by three Camp counselors
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employed by North star 19-year-old Craig fiser 20-year-old Sunny Duncan and 21-year-old Jeff
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hollenstein only two councilors stayed with the group at any given time with the three young men rotating shifts to
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take turns primitive began with the teens undertaking a 48h hour fast while simultaneously trekking through rough
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terrain Aaron who still had an intense stomach ache wrote of how bad he felt but he tried to put a positive spin on
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things noting that the next couple of weeks would both test my physical limitations and broaden
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them the hiking was difficult it involved lots of clambering across sharp rocks and steep
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Cliffs as Aaron's boots were too small for his feet he began to develop painful blisters under the weight of 45 or 20
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kilo backpack he also started to trip and fall after the first fall Aaron struggled to regain his feet due to the
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weight of the pack he eventually managed but soon fell again his legs felt weak like
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jelly after this second fall his entire body was numb and he couldn't lift his arms when Aaron reported these issues to
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his counselors they dismissed Aaron's complaints believing he was feigning discomfort and pain to get out of the
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program they told him to stop being lazy the more Aaron complained about feeling sick and dizzy the more harshly
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he was criticized it wasn't long before some of the other teens and even the counselors
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were calling him gay using the word as a derogatory slur to imply Aaron was weak
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and not masculine enough on Sunday March 13 2 days into the hik the group was permitted to break their
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fast all of the teenagers were given a can of peaches but during the hike that day
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Aaron continued to trip and fall at one stage when he tried to climb through a canyon he slipped and hit his
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chin on a rock cutting it open Aaron wrote in his journal I'm just enveloped in pain the
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staff didn't seem to care one bit after this Aaron started suffering nose beds he continued to feel the cold
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intensely 2 days after his bad fall Aaron said he could no longer carry his pack the weight was just too heavy and
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he wasn't strong enough to hike with it anymore the counselors refused to help so Aaron had to abandon the backpack by
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the track with the intention of collecting it a couple of days later when they tracked back over the
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trail because all students had to carry their own food Aaron wouldn't have access to his
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rations as punishment the counselors also confiscated his sleeping bag over the next couple of days Aaron
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tried to quell his hunger by eating things he and other students scavenged from the terrain a raw lizard and a
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cooked scorpion he hiked a little better without his pack but still fell again breaking a large water container he was
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carrying for the group his situation started to improve later on Thursday March 17 when he got
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his pack back he was able to cook some rations and he got through that day's hike with no
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Falls in his journal he described it as my first good day here at Northstar but the next day Aaron
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struggled to cross a chest deep stream with the rest of the group he lacked the strength to lift his pack over his head
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to prevent it getting wet so it and all of its contents were soaked that night he sat cold and
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shivering on the fringes of the group he wasn't allowed near the fire for warmth
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and had to sleep in a wet sleeping bag Aaron wrote of how scared and sick he felt in his
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journal the pages were dotted with blood from his frequent nose beds and his handwriting was starting to become
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illegible over the next few days things worsened Aaron had his sleeping bag confiscated again for lack of
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cooperation he only had a wool blanket for war warmth and was forced to sleep away from the rest of the group who
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huddled together near the fire and beneath a tarp poan he was also barred from eating
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after failing to light a fire and went multiple days without food starving and still suffering
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intense stomach pain Aaron started to lose control of his bladder he began urinating himself during the
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night then as the group was setting out on the ninth day of the hike Aaron accidentally defecated in his
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pants he hadn't even felt the need to go to the toilet it had just happened without
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warning when Aaron confided in 21-year-old Jeff howenstein the most experienced of the three counselors Jeff
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yelled to another counselor hey he took a dump in his pants the other counselors and group
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members laughed Aaron told the counselors that he was sick and needed medical attention but
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they ignored his please and accused him of Faking it they told Aaron his incontinence was proof he had no
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self-respect Aaron wrote in his journal I am in terrible condition here my hands are all chapped and my lips are
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cracking I feel like I am losing control of my body the next morning Aaron wasn't allowed
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breakfast and instead resorted to eating some prickly pear cactus that night all of the students
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had dinner withheld as punishment for being late setting up camp meanwhile the counselors had bacon and pork
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chops Aaron wrote in his journal all I can think about is cold and pain I miss my family so much my
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hand hands my lips and my face are dead it was his final entry Aaron wasn't allowed to wait for
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the next 3 days as punishment for failing to keep his Camp cup clean and deciding to again leave his pack
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behind another students secretly gave him some powdered milk mixed with brown sugar and he consumed more cactus as
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well as a tea made from pine needles otherwise he had nothing members of the group could see
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how listless and flat Aaron had become he was pale his cheeks looked Hollow and he had grown even thinner than he
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already was Aaron continued to complain about his stomach ache and the cold but the
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counsil has refused his requests to see a doctor they they gave him nothing at night to stay warm despite Aaron having
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no sleeping bag or blanket due to leaving his pack behind on the evening of the hk's 14th
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day Lance Jagger and his business partner Bill Henry paid a visit to the group they gave Aaron a blanket to sleep
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with but refused to let him join the other group members under the shelter the next morning Lance and Bill
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demanded the teenagers perform a series of exercises including 100 jumping jacks
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and 100 situps Aaron could only manage 10 sit-ups by himself the council has helped him do another
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25 by this stage Aaron was unable to walk much and only managed to hike a total of 2 miles he could hardly move
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unless someone else helped him stand up the councilors began to let him eat again giving him some r and lentils but
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he later threw them up when Aaron yet again complained about stomach pain on Monday March 28th the
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councilors repeatedly accused him of mingering Aaron explained that it hurt him to eat and asked to see a
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doctor they told him they were a long way away from any doctors the following day the group had
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to perform a full body hygiene task with which involved stripping down and washing their clothes and
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bathing the other teenagers noticed how scrawny Aaron had become later describing him as looking like a victim
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from a Nazi concentration camp Aaron struggled to walk without falling down even lifting firewood was
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too difficult for him he was able to eat small amounts of food but he kept moaning and saying he
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was dizzy when he looked at the sky he hallucinated streaks of purple and flashing lights he also told the others
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he was seeing spots on Wednesday March 30 the councilors finally requested help radioing North star's emergency medical
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technician Georgette Costigan she came to the camp to check on Aron however the counselors didn't
00:33:54
tell her of his extensive complaints or that he'd barely eaten anything or slept
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in a sleeping bag for days Georgette noticed Aaron's skin was dry and flushed but didn't perform a
00:34:07
medical exam figuring it was nothing serious she refused the counselor's request that she take Aaron back with
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her instead saying she'd check on him again the next day she gave Aaron a slice of cheese and made him promise to
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keep hiking later that evening Aaron vomited and moaned repeatedly while the other teens sat
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around the fire riding in their journals he sat alone with his head tilted to one
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side his mouth open and a drooling councelor Craig Fisher told him to stop it and mimicked
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him that night Aaron was allowed to sleep in a sleeping bag for the first time in eight
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nights before going to bed he told Craig fiser that he didn't want to die Craig assured him that he
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wouldn't the next morning it took Aaron an hour to crawl the 20 ft from his sleeping bag to the
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campfire he repeatedly fell asleep during this attempt to reach the group the counselors had to pick him up
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off the ground as he was unable to stand on his own once he was was standing he immediately fell over
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again Aaron said that he needed to use the bathroom and was unable to make it to the latrine that the group used by
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himself the councilors carried him there then left Aaron alone one of the staff members radioed
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Mike Hill a counselor with another group to ask if Aron could be left with them as he was unable to walk and the
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emergency medical technician would be visiting Mike's group that day Mike agreed and offered to collect
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Aaron with some of his campers when he arrived at the Primitive Camp he was shocked to discover Aaron
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sitting inside the latrine covered with excr he had fallen in and was unable to get
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up one of Aaron's counselors mocked him by imitating the way he had collapsed and told Mike that Aaron was
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deliberately starving himself because he wanted to die horrified Mike and several of his
00:36:33
campers lifted Aaron out of the latrine and carried him to a shady spot are you doing this because you want
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to die Mike asked Aaron no sir Aaron replied I don't want to die sir Mike made Aaron some oat meal but he
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only managed to eat a few spoonfuls in a horar voice he told Mike that all he could see was a white
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glare a Native American man from the Apache tribe Mike later said he knew then that Aaron was
00:37:09
dying he took out some Apache healing powder he kept in his pocket and sprinkled it around Aaron then he knelt
00:37:17
and prayed one of the boys camping with Mike's group began to cry sometime later Mike received a
00:37:28
message from Eric Henry the son of Northstar co-owner Bill Henry that he was headed their way with a truck to
00:37:35
collect Aaron get the faker ready Eric said when he arrived Eric lifted Aaron into the back seat as he was unable to
00:37:46
get up by himself then spent about 15 minutes chatting with other staff members just before 3:00 p.m. they heard
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a banging sound coming from the truck Aaron was slumped unconscious his head knocked against the back
00:38:03
window he had no pulse and his heart had stopped Eric Henry and Mike Hill pulled
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Aaron from the car and Eric radioed base camp while Mike tried to administer CPR Georgette Costigan the emergency
00:38:25
medical technician soon arrived at the scene and attempted to revive Aaron she was joined by the physician's assistant
00:38:33
who'd examined Aaron when he was first admitted to the program but didn't recognize the frail and gaunt boy in
00:38:40
front of him Advanced life support procedures were performed on Aaron without success Georgette repeatedly cried out
00:38:51
oh [ __ ] oh [ __ ] a helicopter was sent for and Aaron was flown to a hospital in Page Arizona
00:39:00
where he was pronounced dead when North Star Expeditions called the bacon family to inform them of
00:39:08
Aaron's passing they used vague language and implied there had been some sort of
00:39:13
tragic accident Bob bacon was left with the impression that Aaron had suddenly collapsed out of the blue perhaps after
00:39:22
accidentally eating some kind of poisonous vegetation but when he and Sally bacon
00:39:28
viewed their son's body in the morg they knew that whatever had happened was no sudden
00:39:36
accident in the months since they had last seen Aaron their son had grown so emaciated that his limbs resembled
00:39:43
toothpicks and his face was gaunt and Hollow his entire body was black and blue with bruises while his skin from
00:39:51
his groin to his feet was covered in Weeping open sores the the only way that they could
00:39:58
recognize him was from a childhood scar above his right eye Sally and Bob were horrified that
00:40:06
staff from Northstar had given them no warning about the state their son's body was in or what they might see when they
00:40:13
identified him an autopsy revealed that during the 4 weeks he'd been at the camp Aaron's
00:40:20
weight had dropped from 131 lb or 59 kg to 108 lb just under 49 kg this amounted to a 17% loss of body
00:40:35
mass many of the bruises covering his skin were from the repeated Falls he'd suffered others were from the staff
00:40:43
members resuscitation attempts the swords from his growing down were the result of Aaron's
00:40:50
incontinence which he' endured over the final two weeks of his life Aaron had ultimately died of acute
00:40:58
peritonitis an inflammation of the membrane that lines the abdominal wall this inflammation is caused most
00:41:06
commonly by bacterial infection in Aaron's case it was the result of a perforated ulcer in his
00:41:14
large intestine which allowed the contents of his digestive system to leak into his abdominal
00:41:20
cavity despite Northstar staff saying Aaron's demise had been sudden the infection was l L and extensive
00:41:28
indicating it had been growing over a long period it was estimated that the ulca
00:41:34
had most likely developed around Tuesday March 15 about 2 weeks after Aaron's arrival at
00:41:41
Northstar hypothermia stress and malnutrition would have all caused the ulcer to
00:41:47
[Music] worsen Aaron had been complaining of stomach pain since almost the beginning
00:41:53
of his time at Northstar if the ulcer had been diagnosed early on it could have been
00:42:00
cured by an over-the-counter medication if Aaron had been taken to hospital as late as the day before his
00:42:07
death or even hours before his final collapse his life would most likely have been saved by antibiotics and proper
00:42:15
Medical Care a few days after the Bacon's view to their son's body they received a call
00:42:23
at home from a television reporter who was also based in Phoenix and was covering Aaron's death for their
00:42:30
station the reporter was seeking a statement from the couple about the fact that 4 years earlier two other teenagers
00:42:37
had died in incidents at two separate Utah based Wilderness therapy programs both of which had direct links
00:42:45
to Northstar Expeditions in mid 1990 California couple Kathy and Bob suton were desperate to help with their daughter
00:43:00
15-year-old Michelle Michelle had been cheerful creative and trusting but her life was
00:43:07
upended one night when she was hanging out with friends she had been sitting in a truck
00:43:12
with a boy she knew from school when he sexually assaulted and raped her Michelle confided in her parents who
00:43:19
took her to Hospital for an examination and helped Michelle report the rape to the police but the boy was never never
00:43:28
charged Michelle struggled in the aftermath of the rape and her pain was exacerbated by having to see her rapist
00:43:35
at school every day her mother Kathy began to suspect that Michelle was experiencing Suicidal
00:43:43
Thoughts it was clear to the satans that their daughter needed help they tried a
00:43:49
few different measures including speaking to the pastor at their Church soon a family friend told them
00:43:56
about something that might help there was a Wilderness Therapy Program in St George Utah called Summit Quest that had
00:44:04
been started by a woman named Gail Palmer Gail had created the program to help teens who were struggling with
00:44:12
issues just like Michelle although they were initially reluctant to send their daughter away
00:44:19
the Suttons eventually realized that Michelle needed help that they weren't equipped to
00:44:26
provide Kathy contacted Gail Palmer for more information Gail was empathetic and
00:44:33
compassionate she explained that Summit Quest had been running for 2 years and had many satisfied customers whose
00:44:41
testimonials were provided the program ran for 63 days and taught teens how to survive in the
00:44:49
wilderness they would be led by trained survival experts who would help them build their self-esteem
00:44:57
Gail said that while the program was challenging it was also safe and supportive there were doctors nurses a
00:45:05
nutritionist and psychologist all on site who would be able to help Michelle as well as addressing physical
00:45:13
stamina the program built mental resilience and spiritual strength over the course of several
00:45:21
weeks Kathy spoke with Gail Palmer 21 times after asking every question she could think of and addressing all of her
00:45:29
potential doubts Kathy was convinced that Summit Quest could help Michelle regain her sense of
00:45:36
self she paid Gail $13,900 for Michelle's enrollment Michelle was agreeable to the
00:45:45
plan because she wanted to both heal and get away from the boy who raped her she left California and started the
00:45:53
summit Quest program on Tuesday May 1 199 9 days later Michelle was dead during an exercise her group's
00:46:05
counselors had gotten lost prolonging a hike in the stifling summer heat their radios were broken leaving them unable
00:46:13
to call for assistance and Water Supplies were limited when Michelle ran out of her
00:46:20
allocated water supply councilors told the other group members not to share their water with her not even when she
00:46:27
started throwing up falling down and complaining that her vision was blurry even as Michelle became so
00:46:35
dehydrated that her mouth appeared white and crusty her counselors accused her of
00:46:40
faking her symptoms and joked that it looked like she had been eating marshmallows after hiking over a
00:46:48
mountain late on the afternoon of Wednesday March 9 Michelle collapsed and died of dehydration
00:46:56
Summit Quest counselors couldn't alert base camp due to their broken radios so instead they had to light signal fires
00:47:04
to get attention it was 18 hours until a passing plane spotted them and sent help Gail Palmer subsequently smeared
00:47:16
the girl's name by saying Michelle had smuggled cocaine into Summit Quest and died of a drug overdose not
00:47:25
dehydration these claims were entirely false no criminal charges were ever laid against gaale but the Suttons later sued
00:47:34
suit Quest and reached a partial settlement for $345,000 in 1992 this settlement money was paid by
00:47:44
Summit quests in Shor despite Gail Palmer's assertions that Summit Quest attendees had access
00:47:52
to a psychologist no actual therapy was ever provided by the Wilderness Therapy Program the camp councilors weren't
00:48:01
experts in adolescent development or Wilderness survival they were mostly college students being paid minimum
00:48:09
wage although Gail had told Kathy satton that summer Quest was 2 years old in reality it was brand new and Michelle's
00:48:18
group was their first ever Summit Quest was operating under a 90-day provisional license and Gail
00:48:26
Palmer wasn't an experienced survivalist or child health expert prior to launching Summit Quest
00:48:33
she had worked in the admissions office for another Wilderness Therapy Program the testimonials from satisfied
00:48:41
parents and teens that she'd shared with Kathy saton had been taken from that business which was called
00:48:52
Challenger Challenger was founded in 1987 by entrepreneur Steve cardano after a career in the
00:49:00
military Steve cardano was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latterday saints and a former student at Utah's
00:49:08
Brigham Young University in the 1970s BYU introduced its own Wilderness Therapy Program for
00:49:16
college students this course lasted several weeks taught basic survival skills and
00:49:23
encouraged students to reflect on their goals while living in the wilderness it was very successful until
00:49:31
1975 when a female participant died of dehydration after that BYU ceased offering the
00:49:40
program Steve cardano had completed the program when he was a student and had loved it his experience inspired him to
00:49:49
start his own program aimed at younger participants in Escalante Utah he dubbed it Cher and it set the
00:49:58
Benchmark for what the Wilderness therapy industry would become in Utah and surrounding
00:50:03
states teenagers had to complete arduous hikes were given scant food and water and were verbally berated under the
00:50:11
guise of tough love counselors were taught to distrust the teens they LED with Steve cardano
00:50:19
describing them as master manipulators who would Fain injuries or illness to get out of the program
00:50:26
Challenger quickly took off thanks in part to Steve cardano's decision to promote the program on daytime
00:50:33
television talk shows such as Sally Jesse Raphael and Heraldo many parents in the late 1980s
00:50:41
and early 90s harbored concerns about their children ending up on the wrong path this was due in part to moral
00:50:49
panics around drug use street gangs and supposed satanic Cults Steve cardano's message reached a
00:50:57
lot of concerned parents who were desperate to help their children many took out second mortgages
00:51:04
so they could afford the $15,900 price tag Challenger was cheap to run all that was required with some camping equipment
00:51:14
and lowcost foods like oats and lentils Steve cardano also set the model for hiring young people to work as
00:51:23
counselors and paying them minimum wage with lots of money coming in and very little going out Challenger made $3.2
00:51:33
million in its first year of operation after Gail Palmer started her own Wilderness Therapy Program which
00:51:42
resulted in Michelle Sutton's Death Steve cardano publicly accused his ex-employee of criminal negligence
00:51:49
telling journalists at Challenger a tragedy like the one that killed Michelle suton could
00:51:56
never happen 6 weeks later 16-year-old Kristen Chase left her home in Florida to attend
00:52:06
Challenger she wasn't given a physical exam upon being admitted to the program but her mother did provide them with
00:52:13
extensive medical records which included difficulty running a knee injury and a history of coughing up a
00:52:21
blood on Tuesday June 26 just a few days into her program Kristen collapsed after
00:52:28
a 5em hike counselors had dismissed Kristen's complaints of feeling unwell denied her
00:52:35
water and ridiculed her Kristen died of exertional heat stroke it took more than 2 hours for
00:52:44
help to arrive this time authorities in Utah laid criminal charges Kane County Prosecutors charged
00:52:55
Steve cardano and an employee who went by the name horse haare with negligent homicide and nine counts of child abuse
00:53:03
relating to Christen and other Challenger attendees horir subsequently agreed to
00:53:10
testify against cardano in exchange for having his own charges dismissed at cardano's trial more than a
00:53:18
year later in September 1991 Challenger employees gave evidence that students were beaten and treated abusively while
00:53:26
under their care but before the jury could deliberate a mistrial was called due to
00:53:33
the judge having failed to read the charges to them at the beginning of the trial 8 months later there was a
00:53:42
retrial the jury ultimately acquitted Steve cardano after determining that the prosecution hadn't done enough to prove
00:53:50
he was guilty one juror later spoke out saying that they had all agreed there were
00:53:56
issues with the program Steve cardano had actually told one former Stafa that it was inevitable
00:54:04
some teens undertaking Wilderness programs would die he'd referred to this likelihood as a window of loss stating
00:54:13
we're going to help so many kids that it's worth the loss of a few an ongoing problem with Utah's
00:54:22
Wilderness therapy programs was the lack of State regulation and oversight Wilderness therapy falls under
00:54:30
a broader category of behavior modification facilities known collectively as the troubled teen
00:54:36
industry aimed at parents who have concerns about their adolescent children's behavior these facilities
00:54:43
take many forms they can be boot camps treatment centers or Wilderness therapy they're also marketed as being
00:54:52
able to solve numerous issues the parents may be worried about including drug use sexuality Behavior deemed
00:55:00
disrespectful or playing too many video games when Steve cardano started Challenger the troubled teen industry
00:55:09
was a burgeoning one there were no federal laws in place to regulate it meaning the situation varied from state
00:55:17
to state in January 1990 new regulations were drafted in Utah dictating that all
00:55:25
wilderness therapy participants must first pass a physical exam by a doctor and be provided with a minimum amount of
00:55:33
water each day Michelle Sutton and Kristen Chase both died shortly before these regulations were set to take effect in
00:55:42
July 1990 in the wake of their deaths the state of Utah passed a law requiring all
00:55:51
Wilderness therapy programs to be licensed by the Department of Health and Human Service services and also began
00:55:58
drafting stricter regulations they were helped in this by some who'd worked within the industry
00:56:05
including ex Challenger employee horsehair at the same time horsehair whose real name was Lance Jagger decided
00:56:16
to start his own Wilderness Therapy Program alongside fellow former Challenger colleague Bill
00:56:23
Henry in October 199 the two men were granted a license by the state of Utah to begin their new
00:56:31
business North Star [Music] Expeditions Aaron Bacon's parents had not known about the earlier Wilderness
00:56:48
therapy deaths let alone that Lance Jagger was criminally charged for one 4 days after Aaron died he was buried in
00:56:57
his hometown of Phoenix on Monday April 4 a few days later Sally and Bob bacon drove to Utah to see the location where
00:57:06
he had died they also met with the County Sheriff Deputy Sheriff and the County prosecutor Bob asked whether his son's
00:57:16
death would be investigated the prosecutor said that it would when the police first arrived at
00:57:23
Northstar following Aaron's passing they hadn't believed that the death was suspicious all of the Northstar
00:57:31
employees and staff they spoke to said that Aaron collapsed out of the blue staff members had made every effort to
00:57:39
revive him but the investigators were aware that Aaron's death was the third time a teenager had died while enrolled
00:57:48
in a Utah Wilderness Therapy Program consequently they would have to look into the circumstances very
00:57:55
carefully even if nothing seemed a Miss Aaron's fellow campers were asked to provide written statements about his
00:58:04
death and the deputy sheriff Celeste Bernards also seized their journals she also had Aaron's own
00:58:12
journal in her possession the picture painted by Aaron's words was vastly different to
00:58:19
one given by Camp counselors according to Aaron's version of events he had been complaining about
00:58:26
ill health since almost the start of the program only to be mocked dismissed and
00:58:32
even punished over the next few months Deputy Bernards carefully scrutinized the other
00:58:40
students journals they had also written about Aaron's deteriorating health and how he
00:58:46
had been treated and their descriptions matched his Deputy Bernards added up crucial
00:58:53
details in their accounts such as how Aaron was punished by having food withheld during interviews the other
00:59:01
teenagers in Aaron's group said that sometimes they'd tried to help him by sneaking in food and sharing their
00:59:08
blankets but usually they were too scared to do so due to the punishments that would follow if
00:59:15
caught Deputy Bernards crosschecked the Camp's claims against provable data such
00:59:21
as what the temperature and weather conditions were during Aaron's month at North
00:59:27
star she calculated that Aaron had been forced to sleep 14 nights in the desert without a sleeping
00:59:34
bag for four of these nights he didn't even have a blanket he had been deprived of food
00:59:41
entirely for a total of 11 days these punishments were in direct violation of northstar's own code of
00:59:51
conduct when they were hired every counselor at Northstar received received a copy of the company's policies and
00:59:58
procedures manual which they had to read and sign a page titled discipline and treatment of the student read in
01:00:08
part the following is not appropriate treatment of a student and his grounds for
01:00:14
dismissal the withholding of any meal denial of clothing shelter or bedding failure to provide adequate Medical Care
01:00:23
Andor treatment verbal abuse using language which attacks the well-being of the student this may include but is not
01:00:33
limited to name calling teasing humiliation ridicule use of foul and abusive language
01:00:42
Etc Deputy Bernards looked into northstar's finances the business grossed roughly
01:00:50
$1.68 million per year with between 1 and 1.5 million being pure profit they were able to make this much
01:00:59
thanks to their minor outlays and underqualified staff despite Northstar assuring parents
01:01:07
that all their staff were trained in therapy and Wilderness skills most Camp counselors they hired were barely out of
01:01:14
school and hadn't undergone criminal background checks they also claimed to have a camp
01:01:21
psychologist named doc Dave who was on hand to help kids in reality Dr Dave was a social worker
01:01:29
who only met the teens once when they first arrived at Northstar investigators were concerned
01:01:37
about the conditions teenagers at Northstar were being forced to endure the camp had been checked in the
01:01:44
weeks after Aaron died and was found to be fully complying with Utah's regulations but the police still had
01:01:52
their doubts in early September they conducted a surprise inspection of northstar's
01:01:59
headquarters with two doctors a psychologist and a nurse examining the 21 adolescents who were in their
01:02:07
care they determined that three girls staying with Northstar weren't well enough to continue with the
01:02:14
program they were removed and had to stay with Foster families until their Guardians could take them
01:02:20
home Northstar continued to operate for its other campers when LA Times journalist Joe morgenstein
01:02:32
contacted an Northstar co-founder Lance Jagger following this development he described the inspection as a Witch
01:02:40
Hunt he thought it was ridiculous that investigators were listening to quote solely the words of the
01:02:48
kids North Star representatives were adamant that there was no way they could have known about Aaron's condition
01:02:56
one spokesperson even claimed he hadn't been deprived of food but instead rejected the food offered to
01:03:03
him co-owner Bill Henry blamed Aaron Bacon's cannabis usage for his death insisting he must have had his ulcer for
01:03:12
a long time but his history of smoking pot must have masked the pain Joe morganstein fact checked this
01:03:20
claim with doctors who said that nothing could have covered the pain of a perforated ulca
01:03:28
just over a month after the surprise inspection of Northstar prosecutors charged Lance Jagger Bill Henry and six
01:03:35
of their employees with felony child abuse charges Georgette costan the Camp's emergency medical technician was also
01:03:44
charged with witness tampering according to Mike Hill the counselor for another group who had
01:03:50
tried to help Aaron in his final moments she had tried to convince some of the students to revise their written
01:03:57
statements for the Sheriff's Office to make them look less incriminating these charges against
01:04:04
Georgette Costigan were later dropped due to a lack of evidence the prosecutors had other
01:04:12
problems that would make pursuing the case difficult although 22-year-old Northstar
01:04:18
employee Mike Hill had tried to help Aaron he soon confessed that he'd committed a crime against another camper
01:04:27
in December 1993 he had sexually abused a 17-year-old boy in a previous program and made him perform sex acts in
01:04:35
exchange for food this crime completely undermined Hill's credibility as a witness Hill subsequently pleaded guilty
01:04:45
to one count of forcible sexual abuse he had been the only North Star staff member willing to testify against
01:04:54
the company but the prosecutors knew they could no longer use him however two of Aaron's fellow
01:05:02
campers were willing to testify and did so at a preliminary hearing in closing arguments a lawyer
01:05:10
for the prosecution stated once it was decided that Aaron was a faker a manipulator that was the
01:05:17
party line at Northstar they said we ignore Aaron because he's faking I don't know how you fake a 23b
01:05:27
weight loss in 24 days following the hearing all of the defendants were ordered to stand
01:05:37
trial eventually most of the defendants struck play deals that saw their felony charges
01:05:44
reduced five of them pleaded guilty to negligent homicide which is a class A misdemeanor in
01:05:50
Utah those who accepted this play included two of Aaron's counselors Sunny Duncan and to Jeff howenstein emergency
01:05:58
medical technician Georgette Costigan and to Northstar co-owners Lance Jagger and Bill
01:06:05
Henry Jagger and Henry also pleaded guilty to operating a program that violated licensing
01:06:13
regulations these defendants were given a 1-year suspended sentence 3 years probation and ordered to each pay a
01:06:21
$25,000 fine they were also ordered to perform community service the sixth defendant pleaded
01:06:30
guilty to a lesser charge of attempting to abuse a disabled child Aaron bacon fit the legal
01:06:37
definition of being a disabled child as his physical illness that began shortly after he arrived at Northstar left him
01:06:45
unable to care for himself this defendant received probation and community service and the seventh defendant was
01:06:55
permitted to sign a diversion program agreement in exchange for 9 months of good
01:07:01
behavior but the final defendant refused to cut a [Music] deal Craig fiser had been just a 19 when
01:07:12
he'd had to care for Aaron as one of his three rotating Camp counselors he had demonstrated a rather
01:07:19
belligerent attitude during the preliminary hearing with Sally bacon reporting that when the judge wasn't
01:07:24
looking Fisher had looked at her sneered and given her the finger while his codefendants had been
01:07:32
convinced to accept plea agreements to avoid a long trial and harsher charges fer rejected the idea
01:07:40
outright he went to trial facing the third degree felony charge of abuse or neglect of a disabled child some of
01:07:49
aon's fellow campers were called as witnesses as were the other Northstar employees who'd pleaded out Aaron
01:07:57
Bacon's parents also testified Craig Fisher's attorney argued that his client had merely been
01:08:05
following the orders of his superiors and had no real say in how Aaron bacon was to be
01:08:11
treated when his client had responded to Aaron's complaints by yelling at him he'
01:08:16
had just been trying to help him it didn't take the jury long to find Craig Fisher guilty
01:08:26
after his conviction Fisher went to hug Sally bacon telling her he'd had no idea
01:08:32
how sick Aaron had really been Sally replied that even if he hadn't known how unwell Aaron was he
01:08:40
hadn't done anything to help him she told Fisher that she hoped he would learn from the tragedy and would never
01:08:47
again treat another human that badly then she hugged him back in a display of forgiveness
01:08:55
when it came time for Craig fiser to be sentenced his attorney pointed to this hug as a sign of his client's
01:09:03
remorse this left Sally feeling used and when she stood to read her Victim Impact
01:09:09
statement she made sure to mention how Fisher had previously glared at her and given the
01:09:15
finger fer was ultimately sentenced to one year in a county jail he appealed his conviction and
01:09:24
lost Fisher was later released after serving only a few months of his sentence Sally and Bob bacon filed a
01:09:35
civil suit against Northstar which was settled out of court and paid by the defendant's insurance
01:09:42
companies the couple also became Crusaders against the Wilderness therapy industry speaking out in the news and on
01:09:49
television programs about how they were misled and what their son's experience had been
01:09:56
they also demanded stronger legislation and Industry oversight in an interview with the Salt
01:10:03
Lake Tribune Bob bacon stated the ignorance arrogance incompetence callousness and greed of
01:10:13
the people running these programs is proving repeatedly to be dangerous abusive and even
01:10:20
fatal the lessons are not being learned the bacons faced harsh push back from Wilderness therapy Advocates who victim
01:10:30
blamed and smeared their family's name by claiming Aaron Sul and Bob were all drug
01:10:37
addicts parents of other children who'd been enrolled at Wilderness therapy camps were among those critiquing the
01:10:44
couple 6 months after Aaron's death the state of Utah revoked North star's license and the camp was permanently
01:10:52
shut down some parents were Furious about this with one mother asking Sally where did you think you were
01:11:01
sending him a dayare Sally later told author Maya salivit about this interaction and
01:11:10
added they wanted a boot camp and that's what they were sold I didn't want a boot
01:11:17
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
01:11:29
for in her 2006 book help at any cost how the troubled teen industry con's parents and hurts KIDS Maya salivit
01:11:39
noted that at least nine other children had died in Wilderness therapy programs in the Years following Aaron's death
01:11:47
most of these deaths occurred when teenages were denied requests for water food or medical
01:11:54
attention that that number has increased in the years since salv vit's book was published with nonprofit organization
01:12:01
breaking code silence counting more than 30 Wilderness therapy deaths since 1990
01:12:07
and 175 in the troubled teen industry overall one occurred as recently as February 2024 when a 12-year-old boy was
01:12:18
founded dead at a camp in North Carolina other abuses aren't fatal but still resulted in
01:12:26
trauma children have been forced to perform manual labor ordered to attack one another verbally in order to gain
01:12:33
Privileges and sexually assaulted other abuses have included the denial of basic hygiene and sanitary
01:12:41
items and forcing teens to march with their ankles tied until their feet bled in one instance a girl was made to
01:12:50
dress as a sex worker and given a name tag that read shameful SL the boys in her group were told to call
01:12:59
her [ __ ] ho and [ __ ] some teenages were forced to wear diapers gagged with Sanitary products
01:13:07
and ordered to clean toilets with their bare hands there have been numerous cases of
01:13:13
teenagers suiciding while in treatment programs or coming to harm after trying to run away from
01:13:21
one although different states have passed laws Rel relating to the troubl teen industry over the years a lack of
01:13:28
Regulation and oversight has meant that teenagers have continued to suffer at the hands of unqualified and abusive
01:13:37
individuals in 2020 the industry was in the National Spotlight again when media personality Paris Hilton spoke out
01:13:45
publicly about her experience at Provo Canyon School an involuntary Residential Treatment Center for teens in Provo Utah
01:13:55
in the late 1990s when Hilton was 16 she had gone through a rebellious phase her
01:14:02
parents eventually sent her to a Wilderness therapy camp and later Provo Canyon School in the hopes it would
01:14:08
correct her behavior Hilton stayed at Provo Canyon school for 11 months and was released
01:14:16
around the time she turned 18 she has testified before Congress about her experiences in these troubled
01:14:23
team programs stating these programs promised healing growth and support but instead did not
01:14:32
allow me to speak move freely or even look out a window for 2 years I was forced for had medications
01:14:40
and sexually abused by the staff I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways stripped naked and thrown into
01:14:49
solitary confinement my parents were completely deceived lied to to and manipulated by
01:14:56
this for-profit industry about the inhumane treatment I was experiencing Paris Hilton's Revelations
01:15:05
led to others coming forward to share their stories on social media as well as increased attention from journalists and
01:15:11
the public Hilton subsequently worked with Utah lawmakers on a new law aimed at improving industry
01:15:20
regulation it came into effect in March 2021 under this law troubled team programs
01:15:28
have to submit to more annual inspections and Report use of physical restraints to the utar office of
01:15:36
Licensing as of 2024 there is still no federal overide of the troubled teen industry and there are more than 10,000
01:15:45
such programs operating in the United States Utah has more of these facilities than anywhere else in the world the this
01:15:55
is due in part to the state's strict parental laws which supports parents making decisions for their children over
01:16:02
a Minor's personal wishes while many states have now made it illegal to hold teenagers in such
01:16:09
programs against their will this is not the case in Utah it's estimated that the industry
01:16:16
still brings the state almost half a billion dollar in Revenue each year the individuals who were charged for the
01:16:27
death of Aaron bacon moved on with their lives Northstar co-owner Bill Henry violated the terms of his probation by
01:16:36
only completing 86 hours of community service instead of the court ordered 1440 hours he then violated It Again by
01:16:46
moving into state to Oregon where his wife had been hired by another Wilderness Therapy
01:16:52
Program the couple's son Eric Henry was later hired by the same company while still on probation for his role in Aaron
01:16:59
Bacon's death in 2023 streaming platform Netflix released a documentary about Wilderness
01:17:08
therapy titled hell Camp which focused primarily on the programs led by Steve cardano Lance Jagger appeared in the
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documentary to talk about his time as an employee at cardano's program Challenger now well into his middle age
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and wearing a breathing tube Jagger stated we didn't break them down to punish them we broke them down to get
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rid of the old crap and help them be a better and more positive person some of the kids were so scared
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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
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that the adults invol involved in their son's death paid too small a price for their role in his
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demise they have spoken out against Lance Jagger's assertion that he's providing tough love with Sally bacon
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telling ABC News you can do tough love as a parent because you love the child they can do
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tough they can't do love police gave Sally and Bob their son's Journal after they had copied its
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contents as evidence the entries were painful for the couple to read as they detailed
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Aaron's physical decline in excruciating detail as well as his emotional pain some pages were dotted with Aaron's
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blood but there were also lines that spoke of Aaron's love for his family in one early entry he reflected
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on his goodbye before being taken into Northstar and wrote wrot I should have told them that I love
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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
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and tell them I love them now [Music] [Music] for