Boston student dies
in Utah
Family questions Outward Bound hike
By James Vaznis, Globe
Staff | July 20, 2006
Writing about how she wanted to
conquer her shyness and build relationships, Elisa Santry of South
Boston won a free spot in the Outward Bound Wilderness program this
summer.
But on Sunday, the 16th day of her
22-day trip of backpacking and rafting, Santry somehow got separated
from the rest of her group while on a hike in a rugged desert in
110-degree heat.
Santry eventually died, a
quarter-mile from Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah. The
16-year-old's relatives, friends, and Outward Bound program
officials are trying to sort out why she succumbed.
``We are anxious to get more
information, but, more importantly, we are anxious to speak with the
adults who were supervising her," said Mary O'Neil, an aunt. ``Who
is that adult who said, `It's 110 degrees, and let's go hiking
between the hours of 10 and 4?' Think about it; 110 degrees would be
difficult to sit in in the shade. It's mind-boggling."
Santry was an outstanding student at
a city exam school, the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and
Science in Roxbury, and was well liked at Sullivan's eatery on
Castle Island, where she had worked for two years.
O'Neil said Santry's mother, Elisa
Woods, had initially opposed her daughter's entrance into the
program, fearful that something tragic would happen. The mother
changed her mind at the last minute, after a mentor assigned to
Santry convinced her that the trip was safe and a good opportunity.
The teenager received a mentor as a part of the scholarship.
Santry's death was the second related
to a program for Outward Bound in nearly three decades, said Mickey
Freeman, president of the program.
In 1978, a participant fell off a
rock in the Pacific Northwest, Freeman said. Other participants have
died because of existing medical conditions, he said. Santry had
passed a medical screening, Freeman also said.
Outward Bound officials said they had
received conflicting reports from the four teenagers who were hiking
with Santry before she disappeared.
According to some accounts, Santry,
who would have been a junior this fall at the O'Bryant School, and
the other teenagers had hiked into an area with brush so thick they
had to push through it with their hands.
They were hiking one-quarter of a
mile to the Colorado River to go rafting, and an instructor was
waiting for them at the river for the rafting excursion.
Some students said they realized that
Santry was missing after they emerged from the brush.
Others, however said they were not
sure whether Santry had in fact followed them into the thick brush
near the river.
Santry's body was found five hours
after she was reported missing.
The sheriff's office in San Juan
County released a statement saying that Santry had stayed behind to
wait for a girl who had injured her ankle. Outward Bound officials
disputed that account.
They said the injured girl had been
evacuated before Santry and the other teenagers reached the last leg
of the hike.
Results from an autopsy have not been
released.
The desert temperature at the time of
her death was 110 degrees, but a bottle with water in it was found
with her body, raising doubts on dehydration as a cause of death.
In response to the questioning of
Santry's aunt, Freeman said the students had been hiking in normal
temperatures for that time of year, in a typical activity.
``Something happened, but we don't
know what," he said.
The program encourages a buddy
system, but Freeman said students sometimes travel by themselves, at
their own pace, especially in the latter days of a long trip. Santry
did not have an assigned buddy.
Santry had competed with 1,200 other
teenagers for 100 scholarships for a number of summer programs
around the nation.
Among these was Outward Bound,
according to Summer Search, which administers scholarships for
programs. Judges liked Santry's desire to be bold and evidence that
she cared for others, said Nancy Sterling , a spokeswoman for Summer
Search.
``What struck people in the program
the most is how altruistic she was," Sterling said.
She often helped care for her father,
William Santry, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, Sterling said.
A friend, as well as a co-worker at
Sullivan's, both emphasized the teenager's caring nature.
``She's a person you could depend on,
and you could always talk to her," said Bridget Foley , 15, a
friend. ``She's very giving."
At school, Santry had a 3.7 grade
point average and took college-level and honors classes, Sterling
said.
She spoke about wanting to go to
college and study criminal justice or political science, Foley said.
Chris Lane , a manager at Sullivan's,
said of Santry: ``She was absolutely the sweetest girl. She got
along with everyone."
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