When runaways kill - who is to blame

Two boys ran away from LUC Ranch near Lampe in Missouri. LUC which stands for "Lives under Construction" failed to make the public aware of the escape. Maybe they believed that they had screened the two boys from Detroit with their bible as only tool. It proved fatal for two pensioners living nearby. They were murdered by the two boys or at least that is what they are tried for.

It is not important what kind of punishment these two boys get if they are convicted in court because no kind of punishment will bring their victims back. There are family out there who will miss two of their loved ones forever.

If they are proven guilty and convicted it must result in a harsh punishment but the public must also learn how these two boys ended up on a ranch clearly not suited to deal with their emotional problems. Boys of that age being able to take lives must demand treatment of a totally other kind than a couple of hours reading the bible combined with hard work can do.

Who sent them there?

For a lot of parents desperate to seek the help their children want it often sounds like a miracle when their priest just happens to know a place where the child can live in harmony with God learning to face consequences and the joy of hard work paid with recommendation for a secure place in heaven when the life is over.

It sounds good but it is not the solution. We are living in year 2013. Hospitals exist. Diagnoses exist. It is possible to evaluate any child and find the right treatment approach if everyone allows the time for it. LUC ranch is not a place where they will take the diagnoses and instill an individual treatment approach for every each client. They simply don’t have the employees for it. It demands years of education and experience to be able to treat difficult issues.

When the child act out it is a question of involving the counselors at school, be ready to approach the DHS to learn what kind of experiences they have. For the individual family having to deal with a child suffering from emotional issues the search for solutions takes all the time. Sometime siblings are neglected because one child is sick. It is one of the worst tasks any parent can be forced to deal with. And there are no short-cuts!

It was a tragedy that these two boys ended up at the LUC ranch. I hope that there were no professionals involved. I hope that the authorities in Lampe do their best not only to solve this crime but also to investigate how the placement process was done. LUC ranch is far from the only Ranch of this type operating in Missouri. There are many and they are not properly supervised by the authorities because they cover behind fact that they are fate based which in this state requires no kind of license at all.

This tragedy and the murder of a resident at another ranch years ago prove that oversight and regulation should be in place. The neighbors are concerned and they should be. People without proper education are playing mind games with teenagers and young adults who need highly specialized care. It is not a question if a similar tragedy will happen. It is a question when it will happen.


Message boards where the LUC ranch murders are discussed:

• Shane Hicks-my name.LUC BOYS RANCH- joke (Topix)
• No discussion on the Trace Hollow/Lampe murders ? (1 Branson message board)
• About these boarding schools (Minors in residential placement research center)
• Trace Hollow homicides ? (HWY-13)
• A New List of Programee Scum from Prodigal Child Ministries(Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Local articles about the LUC Ranch murders:

• Stone County Sheriff to Meet with Neighbors in Lampe, Blue Eye (KRZK)
• Stone County slayings: Boys ranch that housed runaways offers statement (News Leader)

Can 2013 be another golden year

We have learned that one of the largest firms operating behavior modification programs in the United States have decided to close 5 programs down. They are:

• Academy at Swift River
• Talisman Academy
• Stone Mountain School
• SUWS Adolescent & Youth Programs
• Adirondack Leadership Expeditions

Some parts of SUWS remains in operation. Also other independent programs have announced their closure. Among the most well-known programs among survivors was Lighthouse Ministries of North West Florida formerly known as Victory Christian Academy. When the program was located in California a girl died there while she was put to work on something she wasn't trained professional do. Construction work demands education and the program was kicked out of California. They soon found a safe haven in Florida where the authorities doesn't care about religious programs.

However resent coverage in the media put the spotlight on programs like the Lighthouse. Their past was presented to the public. They had no choice but to close. However the closure came too late for the author Michele Ulriksen who died in 2011. Her book "Reform at Victory" showed the ordeal she and the other girls were forced to endure.

2013 seems to be a fine year. So far no teenagers have died in a group home or wilderness program which would be the first for several decades. We will cross our fingers and hope the best.


Sources:

• Aspen Education Group Closes Five Programs (Strugglingteens - industry marketing firm)
• Factsheet about Academy at Swift River (Fornits Wiki)
• Factsheet about Stone Mountain School (Fornits Wiki)
• Factsheet about Adirondack Leadership Expeditions (Fornits Wiki)
• Factsheet about SUWS (Fornits Wiki)
• Reform at Victory

Now stunning kids in a private boot camp is ruled OK

The police have dropped the case against a boot camp instructor at the Reality Invasion Boot Camp in Abilene, Texas

The police got a report from a 14 year old girl who told the police that she was shocked at the program. The police investigation showed that the mother had given permission to the instructors to shock the girl if she became disruptive while she was in the program.

The fact that the police are dropping the charges in this specific case means that it is OK for parents to hire strangers to shock their children using Tasers while it would be a crime for the parents to do it themselves.

How that this be justified?

We urge the politicians to pass legislation which would regulate the use of these private boot camps which have clients aged down to 4 year olds.

Otherwise there is a risk that a child could be killed as the intake process seems not to include a lengthy medical check. A child could be stunned to death based on an undiscovered heart condition. Secondly the child could be acting out based on untreated mental illnesses which would mean that the child would be punished for an illness rather than the behavior.


Sources:

• Several Cases Are Dropped in Reality Invasion Boot Camp Investigation (Big Country Homepage)
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)