Academy cadet, 13, dies while camping
BY JENNIFER KAY
August 15, 2006
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- A 13-year-old cadet at a
private military academy who died while camping at a state park
refused food throughout the excursion, the father of two fellow
cadets said Sunday.
Victor Jusino of Sunrise said his sons, ages 9 and 10, told him
the boy continuously threw away food after the 33 cadets arrived
early Wednesday at the Back to Basics Christian Military
Academy's Training and Leadership Corps campout.
"They described to me that he wasn't eating. He wasn't feeling
well. His stomach was hurting him and the heat was getting to
him," Jusino said.
Other cadets gave similar accounts to WFOR-TV in Miami.
"He wasn't eating any food," 12-year-old Joanna Miller said. "He
would ask people if they want his food, or he would just throw
it on the ground. When he was supposed to drink water, he didn't
want to."
The academy's principal, Lynda Browne, did not return messages
left at the school Sunday. North Miami police have released few
details about their investigation into the death early Saturday
at Oleta River State Park. An autopsy is pending.
Jusino said his sons told him they were given three meals a day
after starting each morning with a long hike. But the boys were
dehydrated, sunburned and had insect bites when he picked them
up Saturday morning, he said.
"They were very dirty, their clothing was wet. They had been
sleeping in wet clothes, and their hair had been cut," Jusino
said.
The cadet, whose name has not been released, got out of bed in
the middle of the night to tell a drill sergeant he did not feel
well, and he collapsed on the way to the bathroom, Browne told
the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She said the boy's mother told
her that her son "wasn't the most physical, strong or athletic
child," the paper reported.
The Lauderhill academy subcontracts with Fort Lauderdale-based
Juvenile Military Training and Leadership Corp. The camp is run
by certified National Guard drill sergeants, Browne told the
paper.
In January, a 14-year-old boy died after a confrontation with
guards at a Panama City boot camp for juvenile offenders
operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. Martin Lee Anderson
died one day after being roughed up by guards.
His death remains under investigation. The state's
government-operated military-style boot camp system was shut
down in May.
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