The boy was found unconscious at the Trails Carolina campground on February 3, a day after he arrived there
Fox Carolina
Trails Carolina, the camp where 12-year-old Clark Harman was found “smothered.”
Authorities in North Carolina have revealed the cause of death of a 12-year-old boy who was found dead at a camp for troubled teens a day after he arrived there in February.
The boy was found unconscious at Trails Carolina, a camp that describes itself as an “adventure therapy program,” PEOPLE reported at the time, citing a statement from the organization.
According to a medical examiner’s report obtained and subsequently published by FOX Carolina,
the child, who has not been identified in the media, was “smothered” and died of suffocation, and his death was ruled a homicide.
On the morning of Feb. 3, Trails Carolina officials called 911 when they were unable to wake the child, the camp said at the time, as previously reported by PEOPLE.
Google Maps
The Trails Carolina campgrounds, where Clark Harman died of asphyxiation, according to police
The Medical Examiner’s report, released this month, said the child had “swelling of the brain” and “minor injuries” to his legs.
The report states that the night before his death he was placed in a bivouac – a small camping tent that resembles a sleeping bag.
Camp protocol requires each bivy to have an opening with an “alarm” to notify cabin counselors if the resident attempts to leave, the report said.
Because the internal mesh of the boy’s bivy was “torn”, the opening of the bivy was replaced with an outer layer, which was opaque. Therefore, the cabin counselors who checked on him throughout the night could not actually see him, the report said.
According to the report, he “stopped moving” in the bivy around 1 a.m. When emergency services arrived after being called around 8 a.m., they determined he had likely been dead for several hours, the report said.
Related: 12-year-old boy dies 1 day after registering for Wilderness Therapy Camp in North Carolina
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In February, the camp said it was “shattered by the tragic loss” and that staff was cooperating with authorities, FOX Carolina reported, citing the company’s statement.
The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office said it believed the boy’s death was not natural and claimed the camp was “not fully” cooperating, officials reportedly told FOX Carolina.
In a follow-up statement in February, the camp said any “speculation” surrounding the child’s death was “irresponsible” and that anyone “spreading information that is untrue or misleading will be publicly identified and held accountable,” according to the newspaper.
The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office and Trails Carolina did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s questions on Tuesday.
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