In November 2014, 17-year-old Alec Lansing left a group he was hiking with as part of the wilderness therapy program Trails Carolina. He was later found deceased in the woods after a tragic accident, leaving many to wonder what he was hoping to escape. On Feb. 3 of this year, a 12-year-old boy who had arrived at the program only 24 hours before was found dead early in the morning. His cause of death is still being investigated, and the school has been ordered to temporarily shut down. What is a wilderness therapy program and why have there been so many cases of teens dying while participating in them across the country?

Cover art by Mackintosh Multimedia

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