Hiker Dies Of Thirst With Water All Around

N.J. Man Led By Guides Carrying Water Collapses And Dies On Utah Survival Trek

(AP)  By Day 2 in the blazing Utah desert, Dave Buschow was in bad shape.

Pale, wracked by cramps, his speech slurred, the 29-year-old New Jersey man was desperate for water and hallucinating so badly he mistook a tree for a person.

After going roughly 10 hours without a drink in the 100-degree heat, he finally dropped dead of thirst, face down in the dirt, less than 100 yards from the goal: a cave with a pool of water.

But Buschow was no solitary soul, lost and alone in the desert. He and 11 other hikers from various walks of life were being led by expert guides on a wilderness-survival adventure designed to test their physical and mental toughness.

And the guides, it turned out, were carrying emergency water on that torrid summer day.

Buschow wasn't told that, and he wasn't offered any. The guides did not want him to fail the $3,175 course. They wanted him to dig deep, push himself beyond his known limits, and make it to the cave on his own.

Nearly a year later, documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act reveal those and other previously undisclosed details of what turned out to be a death march for Buschow. They also raise questions about the judgments and priorities of the guides at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. What matters more: the customer's welfare or his quest?

"It was so needless. What a shame. It didn't have to happen," said Ray Gardner, the Garfield County sheriff's deputy who hiked six miles to recover Buschow's body. "They had emergency water right there. I would have given him a drink."

Family members are angry.

"Down in those canyons it's like a furnace," said Rob Buschow of Glen Spey, N.Y. "I don't have my brother anymore because no one would give him water."

While regretting the tragedy, the school, known as BOSS, has denied any negligence and instead blamed Buschow, saying the security officer and former Air Force airman did not read course materials, may have withheld health information and may have eaten too heavily before leaving River Vale, N.J., for the grueling course.

Noting Buschow signed liability waivers, the school said: "Mr. Buschow expressly assumed the risk of serious injury or death prior to participating."

[incog-nito]

At least he died doing what he loved (or so they say).

[down-ndirty]

From the BOSS website: "If you want to learn a softer path through the wilderness, a path that teaches how to create a positive impact on the land around you, please consider joining us at BOSS."

That's BS!! I taught wilderness basics for six years and the instructors and students did NOT leave the safety of their vehicles WITHOUT the TEN essentials. The top two essentials are FOOD and WATER for the duration of the trip. The only time we didn't carry sufficient water was when we absolutely knew there would be sufficient water along the trip. And 24-hours between watering holes is NOT sufficient water.

But then BOSS is not a survival course; they cater to the people who want to push their limits to the cusp of death to get that ultimate "rush." Sometimes you "pass" and sometimes you "fail."

Death is not the only failure; permanent damage to internal organs could also be the result of denying the body proper nutrition and hydration.

To leave a "safe" area and hike into the desert, summer or winter, with only the clothes on your back and no water, borders on suicidal.

To deny aid to someone in need is inhumane; if you are the "leader" then you are required to give aid.

[joatmonjf]

Afranco: It's not just that. As soon as the Attorney General of Garfield County, Utah, (where, by the way, according to my research, there are less than 2 people per square mile) made a judgment call that there was "insufficient evidence of criminal negligence" to prosecute with a returned conviction, BOSS quickly filed a lawsuit petitioning their absolution in the case of Dave's death.
The part that gets me the worst is that with Dave's dying breaths as he lay face down in the dirt, unable to move, not 100 feet from a watering hole, he begged his instructor to get water for him. The instructor's reply was that he wouldn't leave Dave, when all he had to do was to reach into his pack for a water bottle.
There is a definitive line when you have to stop following the directives of your employer, and use your head, your heart, and your soul. On July 17, 2006 that line was crossed by BOSS instructors hours before Dave's obscenely horrible death.

[joatmonjf]

Afranco: It's not just that. As soon as the Attorney General of Garfield County, Utah, (where, by the way, according to my research, there are less than 2 people per square mile) made a judgment call that there was "insufficient evidence of criminal negligence" to prosecute with a returned conviction, BOSS quickly filed a lawsuit petitioning their absolution in the case of Dave's death.
The part that gets me the worst is that with Dave's dying breaths as he lay face down in the dirt, unable to move, not 100 feet from a watering hole, he begged his instructor to get water for him. The instructor's reply was that he wouldn't leave Dave, when all he had to do was to reach into his pack for a water bottle.
There is a definitive line when you have to stop following the directives of your employer, and use your head, your heart, and your soul. On July 17, 2006 that line was crossed by BOSS instructors hours before Dave's obscenely horrible death.

[ralan40]

Let's change it around, shall we? Let's say this guy was swimming and started to go under when he was close to land. If the guides had life-rings and didn't attempt to rescue the drowning man, they would have charges filed against them. Considering there was no Doctor present, I would say these guides were in no position to withhold water from this man. It is neglegent homicide pure and simple.
I don't understand where the joy is in creating hazerdous life threatening conditions. If you want to push yourself, physically, build a school in the jungles of Brazil or something, at least you'll get water if you ask for it.

[nowhiteguilt]

WHAT A WASTE OF $3,175.00, THAT WOULD OF PAID FOR MY
AUTO AND H.O.I FOR THE YEAR! WHAT A DUMMY!

[themartyred]

the 'guides of death' will spend their life in prison testing THEIR endurance if justice gets to prevail in this life.
www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[tuckerndfw]

tuckerndfw: You should have read the article carefully before insulting the dead. It says that he took a water bottle for the trip but was warned by BOSS staff not to fill it; so obviously he knew he would need water and had a certain level of belief that could get it for himself!

Posted by cbsvisitor1 at 01:38 AM : May 04, 2007

In other words, he overestimated his ability and willingly attempted to cross a desert without water.

Which is exactly what I said.

They call them deserts because there is little or no available water.

Human beings require regular intakes of water (or other liquids) in order to survive. Most people learn that by the time they are three days old. And is a lesson never forgotten.

Except by stupid people.

Anyone who willingly attempts to cross a desert without taking water is stupid. What someone told him is irrelevant. Paying someone to subject you to risk dying of thirst or starvation further demonstrates stupidity.

Period.

As an aside, he could have paid me $5 and I would have locked him in a closet for a few days so he could test his endurance. He was REALLY stupid for forking over thousands of dollars for something he could have gotten for free or at a lot less cost.

[cbsvisitor1]

tuckerndfw: You should have read the article carefully before insulting the dead. It says that he took a water bottle for the trip but was warned by BOSS staff not to fill it; so obviously he knew he would need water and had a certain level of belief that could get it for himself!

[randalds]

Even in the hard core Military Survival Courses 'things happen' and people die. But they are under constant review and closely monitored.

The situation in question here sounds like it could have been a "Bubba Gump Operation", in spite of their longevity, and caveat emptor.

Thank You
BC Kelly
Tallahassee Fla


Posted by BC_Kelly at 11:56 AM : May 03, 2007

Gotta agree with that. I took winter survival school in the USAF and yes it was dangerous, but the instructors sure as hell wouldn't have allowed one of us to freeze to death to prove that point. Sounds like amateurs or wanna-be's to me.

[tuckerndfw]

If he wanted to test his survival skills, he should have spent a few days as a homeless person on the streets of Newark. (or any other major NJ city)

That would have been more challenging than the Utah desert. And, I doubt he would have survived one day given his demonstrated lack of judgment. And, overestimation of his own abilities.

Anyone who willingly agrees to cross a desert (any desert) without water is . . . well, it should be obvious what he was.

Hopefully, he left no children behind to carry on the tradition of stupidity.

[cbsvisitor1]

Good on you 'afranco'. Even though I am on the other side of the world I emailed their website too because I feel just as angry. No one has the right to deny someone the basic necesssities to stay alive. BOSS 'rules' about not being allowed to store water during a course should be illegal! I too am appalled beyond words by their shifting blame to the one they should have given a drink to. There's no excuse for the way they handle this..

[afranco297]

I went to the BOSS web site and posted comment quoted below. Posted message at:
http://www.boss-inc.com/08contact.html
"I am appalled at the criminal negligence which led to the death of Dave Buschow. A man is hallucinating and repeatedly collapses and your staff refuses to give him a drink of water. What kind of insanity is that. Military trainers in survival skill insist that soldiers in training drink. What misguided sense of virtue is it to deny a man who is clearly in medical distress water and allow him to die. And no waiver is an excuse for criminal negligence. What amazes me is the insensitivity of staff who were interviewed about this incident and tried to blame the young man for his own death; no remorse whatsoever.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/03/travel/main2757021.shtml
Especially appalling, this quote:
'While regretting the tragedy, the school, known as BOSS, has denied any negligence and instead blamed Buschow, saying the security officer and former Air Force airman did not read course materials, may have withheld health information and may have eaten too heavily before leaving River Vale, N.J., for the grueling course.'
Blame the victim. A terrible ploy to avoid responsibility."

[afranco297]

This story has made me so angry I can barely see straight. I am APPALLED at the lack of remorse of the BOSS program leaders. They should not be allowed to run their program anymore. The stupidity is mind-boggling. There is no way that young man's waiver gave them the right to essentially murder him. The family should sue the pants off BOSS. Disgusting!

[buildmypc]

It is murder when you don't help. All military trainees are watched and FORCED to drink even in survival training. That way they don't murder the soldiers by watching and doing NOTHING. They made the decision to let him die now they live with it.

[slipster01]

If the people of BOSS can't tell when a person is truly in medical distress, they have no business trying to teach people survival skills.

[debra_vs]

The BOSS guides were criminally negligent and should be prosecuted. Period. The man's family should be suing the organization. Once he showed signs of halucinating, he should have been deemed medically unfit and given the emergency water and airlifted out of there.

[incog-nito]

Well, just like the brochure says, he certainly went past his limits and beyond all right, all the way to the other side.

[cbsvisitor1]

Fair point taylpatr; but we get into cars every day KNOWING we risk crashing it, being hit by drunk drivers etc. I don't know about the U.S. but where I live, it is illegal to not stop AND ASSIST an injured person if we are involved in a crash. BOSS was involved in creating this situation and clearly failed to assist a very desperate man. Almost a year after the tragedy, they claim on website that they've never lost anyone "permanently"! It totally irks me that he was: 1) denied the right to fill his own water bottle @ the first source they came to (most basic human right?!) 2) Refused help when he was at death door.

[taylpatr]

I was raised in southern Utah.When we were kids, one of the first thing we learned was not to go into the desert without drinking water. How a grown man can go out there and PAY someone to test his survival ability is probably one of the most asinine moves I've ever heard of. Good God, people think their money will buy anything. The only thing crazier than companies like this are the people who patronize them. People that don't have common sense should stay out of places like this. They're just not ready.