HikeLite
08-04-2004, 23:19
SANDWICH, N.H. (Aug. 4) - A 13-year-old boy attending a camp for underprivileged children collapsed and died after being scared by a bear on a hike, authorities said Wednesday. Antonio Hansel of Boston was hiking on Doublehead Mountain with a counselor from Camp Hale on Tuesday when they came across the bear, the state Fish and Game Department said. Officials said the two ran away, and the bear did not chase them.Fish and Game Sgt. James Goss said that as the boy ran he went into respiratory distress and collapsed. Authorities reached him about two hours later. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Plymouth. An autopsy was being conducted Wednesday. Goss said he did not believe the boy had any medical problems. Camp Hale, for low-income children from the Boston area, is in its 104th year of operation. Its Web site says about 50 boys ages 8 to 13 attend the three-week camp sessions, whose goal is to enhance their sense of well-being and their potential. "Right now our concern is dealing with the family and dealing with the other families," said Samia Hakim, assistant to the president of United South End Settlements in Dorchester, which operates the camp.