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Cleon Wall, KSL Newsradio Congress is examining reports of widespread abuses at wilderness camps for troubled kids. Today they heard testimony from a family whose son died in Utah.
Aaron Bacon was only 16 years old when he spent his last days on a trail with North Star Expeditions. His mom, Sally, says they were anything but pleasant. "They humiliated him, called him names and decided that since he couldn't carry his pack, his food was in his pack, ... he would go without food," she said.
Bob Bacon said no one gave him any help. "As he got weaker and weaker, and lost nearly 20 percent of his body weight, they repeatedly refused to send him to a doctor," he said.
Aaron died of a bleeding ulcer.
The government accountability office says many of these programs are marked by ineffective management and untrained staff. Congressman George Miller says now the federal government needs to step in.
