Police are investigating after an 18-year-old counselor was found dead in his bunk at a YMCA camp in Massachusetts.
District Attorney Michael O'Keefe and Sandwich Police Chief Peter Wack said they are investigating an "unattended death" that occurred at Camp Burgess & Hayward in Sandwich, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Sandwich police and fire were first called to the camp on Wednesday morning when 18-year-old camp counselor Neal J. Tompkins was found unresponsive in his bunk. Preliminary investigation shows no sign of foul play.
The South Shore YMCA and Camp Burgess & Hayward issued a statement saying that the counselor "passed away in his sleep," and it is believed that he died of natural causes.
"Leadership at Camp Burgess & Hayward has begun to reach out to grief counselors to bring on-site and is encouraging camper paretns to allow campers to stay at Camp through the week, where they'll have access to grief counselors, and the support of the Camp community to grieve and share and offer some closure," the statement reads.
Earlier this month, on July 1, a 25-year-old woman was injured in a fall at the same camp and had to be flown to a Boston area hospital by medical helicopter.
According to its website, Camp Burgess offers overnight camps for boys ages 7 to 16. Nearly 2,000 children attend its programs each summer. Camp Hayward is a girls camp located on the other side of Spectacle Pond.
