Update: The boys were found the afternoon of Tuesday, March 20 2007. They have all been charged with criminal offenses. For some reason, although all are minors, www.newswatch50.com is publishing their names and their photographs. I'm not linking.
Parents, if you are considering a residential treatment program for your child, please download and read this factsheet from Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate Use of Residential Treatment (A START). Download ASTART_program_questions.pdf
Update: Four boys, aged 15-17, overpowered a staff member, broke a window, and ran away from the Academy at Ivy Ridge early on March 19, 2007. The high temperature was about 37 degrees F.; tonight's (March 20) temperatures are forecast to be "near record lows 5 below to 10 below zero." The boys did not have adequate clothing, equipment, or training to survive the adverse conditions. I am very concerned about their survival.
Four male students boys have escaped from the Academy at Ivy Ridge (alternative site). Temperatures are quite low and the young men boys may be in danger.
Five students overpowered a supervisor, broke a window and escaped the secured facility for troubled kids near Ogdensburg early Monday morning. One was caught as he was leaving the grounds. Authorities are unsure where the other four have gone but believe they've split up.
Authorities are worried about their safety saying the three 17 year olds and a 15 year old are not dressed for winter weather. Temperatures are expected to drop below zero tonight. Authorities have advised area residents to keep an eye out for footprints around outbuildings.
A spokesman for the school says the students were new arrivals at that facility and weren't accustomed to the strict rules and regulations.
I hope the young men are warm and safe.
Previous Academy at Ivy Ridge posts:
Academy at Ivy Ridge Not A School, Says New York State
Riot At Ivy Ridge June, 2005
Class Action Suits Against Ivy Ridge and WWASPS
More news:
Ivy Ridge students run away
Updated: 3/19/2007 7:14 PM
By: Dana HendricksonPolice went door to door, even buggy to buggy, looking for the missing boys.
"If you see them, let someone know," a trooper said.Early Monday morning, four students ran free from the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a school for troubled teens.
Tom Nichols, Academy at Ivy Ridge Spokesperson, said, "These individuals forced their way out of the building and the dorm parents tried to stop them and there were just a few individuals who managed to get outside the building."
Update: Mr. Nichols, sir? These aren't "individuals", they are children, children under your care and supervision. It was very cold -- below freezing -- Monday night.
Four students have run away from a boarding school for troubled teens in the North Country. But this has happened before at the Academy at Ivy Ridge.
Officials said the students may have split up, and now they could be just about anywhere.
Nichols said, "This is just four individuals who are used to doing whatever they wanted to and they had to live by our rules at Ivy Ridge."
Police are treating this as a missing persons case and say the only rules the students have broken are the schools.
Nichols said, "Our first job is to find these young men and to get them back into where it’s warm and where it is safe and then we will work on other things after that."
Boarding school officials count three other times they've faced this problem before. The most noted is in May of 2005, when 40 students were expelled for breaking free. And people who live nearby said they are always concerned for the safety of the students.
Bob Leroux, an Ogdensburg resident, said, "I always suspect students at Ivy Ridge are unfamiliar with the weather and the North Country and to leave the campus without clothing is to put them in danger of hypothermia."
For now, police said they are continuing their search until the boys return to their home away from home.
If you have any information of the boys whereabouts you are asked to call Ogdensburg State Police at (315) 393-3350.
I wouldn't call it "a home away from home", but the local media have been rather credulous about the Ivy Rdige program.
Update: a parent speaks
The search is still on to find the missing boys from a North Country boarding school. News 10 Now's Dana Hendrickson spoke to Academy at Ivy Ridge officials as well as parents who said they are not giving up until the students are found safe and sound.
Police are still looking for 17-year-old Brian D.., 15-year-old Mathias D., 17-year-old Dan S., and 17-year-old Jacob P., who broke out of the school for troubled teens early Monday. The Academy at Ivy Ridge spokesperson said this is first time a search for runaway students at the school has gone on this long.Nichols said, "So I guess we're frustrated at this point in time, and it's just one of those things where we keep working together and find other leads and hopefully find them quickly."
Gee, Mr. Nichols, from where I sit there is little chance of survival if the boys aren't found. Why aren't you on the local television and radio stations, begging for the boys to return, or at least let an impartial third-party advise that they are safe?
One of the parents of the missing boys is also out searching in the Ogdensburg area. He said he is so worried that he'll do just about anything to find his son.
Brian D--- said, "I would offer a $5,000 reward for anybody that can lead to information so we can safely get the boys returned."
Looking for his son is nothing new for Brian, who says his boy has run away a few times before.
D--- said, "He was always a good kid. He just needed to learn responsibility, that's why he was up at Ivy Ridge."
Is the Academy at Ivy Ridge the best place to learn responsibility?
update:
Four teens face criminal charges after their two-day fling with freedom from an Ogdensburg behavior modification program.
Following their capture Tuesday afternoon in Jefferson County, State Police charged the Ivy Ridge Academy students as follows:
- Jacob P., 17, Louisiana: burglary, menacing
- Daniel S., 17, , Virginia: burglary, menacing
- Brian D., 17, Massachusetts: burglary, menacing, assault, weapons possession
- A juvenile, 15, Massachusetts: burglary, menacing.
State Police say a staff member at Ivy Ridge was assaulted with a broom handle as the four fled the facility early Monday morning.
Later, the teens allegedly broke into a barn in the town of Oswegatchie and a camper trailer in the town of Morristown.
They were caught Tuesday afternoon when a citizen reported seeing them run from a building and get into a vehicle with Massachusetts plates.
State Police based in Watertown stopped the car and detained the teens.
P., S. and D. were arraigned in town of Morristown court and jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail. They have a court appearance set for April 5.
The juvenile was turned over to Ivy Ridge Academy to await a Family Court appearance.
Further Information on Academy at Ivy Ridge and Similar/Related Organizations:
There are two suits going against the organizations Robert Lichfield has invested in or is associated with. One is specific to Ivy Ridge; the other is broader.
General class action suit (The "Wood Complaint"): (defendants include Lichfield, Ken Kay, Karr Farnsworth, David Gilcrease, and "John Does I through XX).
I imagine Hinton will be one of the Does. The amended complaint:
Download WoodAmendedComplaint.pdf
If you want to join the suit, go to http://www.wturley.com/
Ivy Ridge class action suit:
Download IvyRidgeClassAction.pdf
Previous Posts on WWASPS and WWASPS-related issues:
Challenge Day & WWASPS --March 30 2005
Boonville Says No to WWASPS--April 10 2005
Riot at Ivy Ridge--June 8 2005
Academy at Ivy Ridge--August 23, 2005
Advice for Parents Looking for A Therapeutic School -- January 21, 2005
Maia Szalavitz On Debunking "Tough Love" Schools -- April 11 2006
WWASPS Suit--September 6 2006
On Accreditation -- December 11 2006
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools -- December 11 2006
Series on Questions Parents Should Ask Before Enrolling A Child In A School:
- NonPublic Schools: Part I--Overview
- NonPublic Schools--Part II Evaluating Mission, Values, & Goodness of Fit for Your Child
- NonPublic Schools--Part III Faculty and Staff Qualifications
- NonPublic Schools--Part IV: Evaluating Academic Program
- NonPublic Schools:Part V--On Accreditation
- NonPublic Schools:Part VI--More Detail on Financial Issues: IRS Status
Other Sources of Information:
- Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse (CAICA)--Royal Gorge Index
- International Survivors Action Committee ISAC --WWASPS Index
- WaspsInfo.net ("home of all the information WWASPS wants you to ignore.") --includes Randall Hinton's bio
- NoSpank on residential treatment
- Community Alliance on Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY)
- John Gorenfeld on Tranquility Bay
- John Gorenfield's writings on boot camp abuse
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