2 Die in Sweat Lodge at Ariz. Retreat

(CBS/ AP)  Two people died and an estimated 19 others were taken to hospitals after being overcome while sitting in a sauna-like sweat lodge during a Sedona spiritual retreat, authorities said Friday.

Sixty-four people were in a crudely constructed sweat dome at the 70-acre Angel Valley resort Thursday evening, Yavapai County sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said. The resort nestled in the forest about 20 minutes from Sedona, a resort town about 115 miles north of Phoenix that is well-known as a center for the New Age spiritual movement.

The resort is not far from Sen. John McCain's ranch, reports CBS affiliate KPHO in Phoenix.

Many people began feeling ill after about two hours in the sweat box, emerging lightheaded and weak, said Verde Valley Fire District Chief Jerry Doerksen. Authorities haven't determined the cause of the deaths and illnesses; tests for carbon monoxide and other contaminants were negative. D'Evelyn said authorities were checking into whether any of the attendees had pre-existing medical conditions and the possibility that some of the people might have been fasting.

About 21 people were taken by ambulance or helicopter to area hospitals, where two were pronounced dead, D'Evelyn said. The dead were identified only as a man and woman, both middle-aged.

Three people taken to Flagstaff Medical Center were listed in critical condition Friday, and another was in fair condition. Three others who were admitted to a hospital in nearby Verde Valley recovered quickly; two of them were released overnight and one was reported in good condition Friday.

Sheriff's homicide investigators were working to determine what happened and whether any criminal actions might have been a factor in the incident, D'Evelyn said. Investigators were at the resort Friday interviewing the retreat director, staff and guests, including some who told detectives they paid up to $9,000 for the multi-day program.

A woman who answered the phone at the resort Friday said its founders, Michael and Amayra Hamilton, would have no comment. A call to the Hamilton's home went unanswered.

The owners are also ordained ministers, KPHO's Sarah Buduson reports.

Authorities said self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray rented the facility and was hosting the group inside the dome, a low-lying structure covered with tarps and blankets. In a testimonial on the retreat's Web site, Ray said it "offers an ideal environment for my teachings and our participants."

Ray's company, James Ray International, is based in Carlsbad, California.

A spokesman for Ray, Howard Bragman, confirmed that Ray was holding an event at the retreat, as he has done in the past.

Doerksen, whose fire district responded to emergency calls, said he sent a hazardous materials team into the sweat lodge to test for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other contaminants. The test "didn't show anything out of the ordinary," he said.

The Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center, built on former ranch property in the high-desert and red-rock country of northern Arizona, bills itself as a natural environment for self discovery and healing through a holistic approach aimed at balancing the mind, emotions, body and spirit.

The property includes American Indian structures such as teepees, guest houses and outdoor labyrinths made of stones.

[outlawcowboy3]

Even old outlaws that like me know that the sweat lodge is big medcine, and should never be entered with out a medman to prepare you for this journy. White folk dont understand this and are trieing to cash in on the red mans belife whith is a very big mistake. The red man world has a very powerful spirt thay call him the great spirt should tell us something white folk today have lost something and are looking for it in all the rong places this jorny begins in one self as a child as is nurchired by the medman till adult it is somthing you have to preaper for and shoud never be entered as something on a spar of the moment thing and all that are involved are to be held responsible.

[Janescrew]

I participate in a monthly sweat where I have never encountered any of the problems of this sweat. The first thing that irks me is it was NOT Native American ran this is not acceptable who is this guy to feel he is experienced enough to do something our elders teach for years and train others to carry on . The second thing is fasting 3 days and then a 2 hour sweat ,this person has lost their mind. I don't care who you are if you don't regularly participate in sweats and work up to what sounds to be the equivalent of a "Warriors Sweat" then it should have never been 2 hours even with a suffering round on a "warriors sweat" it isnt 2 hrs and this is for Native Americans who have been doing sweats for years much less with the fasting for 3 days . It is a shame that people are posing and pretending they know what they are doing . This so called guru was a money grubbing fool.
I, as I said participate in sweats and I HAVE NEVER nor WILL NEVER PAY for the ceremony of the inipi or "sweat lodge" this is sacred and of native culture and for some idiot to come along and charge for it is an insult to a sacred ceremony and I hope A.I.M goes after him nomatter what state he is in he needs to be made to answer for what he has done and the violation of peoples trust peoples bank accts and peoples lives and for stealing the First peoples ceremonies to use as a hokey get rich quick scheme . The creator see's ALL and this man must be made to answer to the people.My heart is heavy for the deceased victims families.

[Northwoman]

Well, I feel very sorry for those who have lost their family members. These ceremonies are usually conducted by people who have received the " teaching " to run a sweat properly. There are many aspects to this type of learning as well as a huge responsibility on one who runs the sweat. From what I saw in the media, perhaps these people need to seek out the proper teachings and quuit fooling around with these ceremonies because you have " seen them done before"...and the most important message...If you have to " PAY TO PRAY"...get away from there as fast as you can, doesn't matter what religion or culture it is!

[TemporaryReplyer]

There was likely some ventilation of the tent/structure before the CO ppm were measured/tested (and a microenvironment will change when people even leave the area and vacate it.) Also the labs on the corpses and survivors were probably only carboxyhemoblobin tests, which are notoriously inadequate because the gases will dissipate (at least in this test) in 20 min to 2 hrs or less. The lab tests that should be done are both arterial blood gases and venous blood gases (the latter w/o tourniquet), and they should be compared to each other. Also, people respond differently to lower levels of CO depending on age, sex, height, weight, body build, whether smokers or not, whether ever previously exposed to low, long-term or high short-term levels. And maybe even heredity. Govt acceptable levels (or really TLVs - Threshold Limit Values) which may have been at smaller than alarming amounts (and within so called "acceptable amounts") can and extremely often do make people very, very sick. Contrary to popular belief, there are no consistent levels for interpretation according to standard-setting bodies like OSHA, ANSI, etc. At least draw venous gases, and an exhaled breath gas test, and maybe even SPECT brain imaging to re-examine the possible CO case. I would not say it's a closed book at all. Please pass this advice to the reporters and coroners, and visit www.mcsrr.org and google "chronic carbon monoxide" in google scholar. It'll come up with controversial differences of measurement and diagnoses, and include debate that's been to the BMJ and NEMJ and back.

[beardog500]

I found out the hard way about something called VALLEY FEVER - I visited Sedona in June of this year and have been sick ever since. Can't breathe. No one East of Arizona ever heard of Valley Fever, but the timeframe and symptoms are similar to what I'm experiencing. When I found out how many people are affected by this (over 1,000 people in June alone in AZ!) WHY IS THIS BEING KEPT A SECRET BY THE STATES WHERE THIS IS A HAZARD? WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT TOLD SO WE CAN MAKE A DECISION FOR OURSELVES? I CONTACTED THE SEDONA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BEFORE VISITING AND THEY NEVER SAID ONE WORD ABOUT THIS EPIDEMIC!!!

[hogi2]

What is with the personal attack SBC...and yes, those countries do have the same problems with the diversities of their people.

I am confused by those that speak of short sweats; I must sweat with more "long winded" people that they do. Sweating is a common way to pray and, for those of us that choose that way, there is nothing unusual about it. My husband runs stones and has been doing so for over two decades; this is sacred medicine that is past down from people who know what their doing and is not to be played with. (oh...sorry for the double submit; I am new to the site)

[hogi2]

From the picture it looks like the lodge was covered with a layer of plastic. I don't think these people realized that the lodge has to breath. I have heard of this before, people covering lodges with the wrong material. I have also heard of people using the wrong kind of rocks that blow up when water is poured on them. These people played with the Creator's medicine and this is what happened. What about the Fire-keeper, where was he when all this was going on? I have been in sweats with a few people and I have been in sweats with a lot of people; it was not the numbers that mattered, or the fasting. Maybe the stones had something on them that was not destroyed in the fire or brushed off properly when placed in the lodge. The bottom line is,, and James Ray did not know what he was doing; who gave him permission to run a sweat anyway. Pouring water and keeping stones is an awesome responsibility, and James Arthur Ray needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for what he did.

[hogi2]

From the picture it looks like the lodge was covered with a layer of plastic. I don't think these people realized that the lodge has to breath. I have heard of this before, people covering lodges with the wrong material. I have also heard of people using the wrong kind of rocks that blow up when water is poured on them. These people played with the Creator's medicine and this is what happened. What about the Fire-keeper, where was he when all this was going on? I have been in sweats with a few people and I have been in sweats with a lot of people; it was not the numbers that mattered, or the fasting. Maybe the stones had something on them that was not destroyed in the fire or brushed off properly when placed in the lodge. The bottom line is,, and James Ray did not know what he was doing; who gave him permission to run a sweat anyway. Pouring water and keeping stones is an awesome responsibility, and James Arthur Ray needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for what he did.

[lmbathey]

I attended this event a few years ago. To attend I paid over $7000 and expected to find a way to further my spiritual growth. However, I was hugely disappointed to find that this event was not for the spiritual growth of the individuals but for the financial growth of James Ray. From the first night where James Ray was pushing people to shave their heads...yes I said shave their heads I was concerned about the control factor, however, I stayed to see what I was there to learn. The day long classes where James Ray berrated individuals and pushed us to sign up for future events were enfored with no talking rules. When we headed into the grounds to spend 2 days and nights without food or water I had had enough. I came back in from the desert hoping to find a James Ray staff member, none could be found. The owner of the camp informed me that the staff had left for a hike for the day. That meant that over 60 people were left unattended in the desert with no food or water. Leaving the event it took the James Ray staff over 27 hours to contact me. Having fallen earlier in the event and broken my wrist they told me they assumed I had left out of discomfort. That was not the case and I informed them at my disgust at the way people who had trusted them had been left in the desert unsupervised. I never heard from James Ray or their office again regarding this complete farce of a spiritual event. James Ray is not a man of integrity, he is a man of greed. His goal is to get you to commit to more money and more of his ridiculous "spiritual" events where he creates an unloving and unneccessary feeling of superiority. He should be held completely accountable for playacting at an ancient Native American tradition as the sweat lodge. I am glad I left early from this event, who knows what could have happened.

[tribunact]

I'm a producer here at CBS NEWS and I'm looking for people who have attended a James Ray event to better understand what it is like. Please let me know how we could reach you ASAP. Liz Bacelar - CBS NEWS, NY, [e-mail]

[rondivoo]

Native Americans themselves use their own culture to profit from tourists and those who are interested in their culture. I don't know why Indians call everybody who is interested in their culture, "wannabe's". Since they populated our country before we ever got here and wrongfully took it from them, many Americans are deeply interested in these people and their way of living. It doesn't mean a white person "wants to be an Indian." That is silly. We study about Native Americans in school which spurs many people's interest. I am interested in all kinds of wildlife, but I don't wannabe a tiger or elephant. Get over it, Natives, we don't "wannabe" you.