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)
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