Scout dies in boating accident, Lake Manning, Camp Bell (Gilmanton, NH)

[RememberSchiff]

Officials said late Saturday morning that a Scout died in an accident on Manning Lake (Camp Bell) in Gilmanton,NH on Friday.

"On Friday, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Dive Team searched Manning Lake for the victim of a boating accident.

The dive team staged at the boat launch on the northeast end of the lake where members and officers boarded an agency boat around 4:30 p.m. and made their way to the far southwest corner of the lake.

A person at the boat launch, who declined to identify himself, said he was told that earlier two boats were each pulling a person on a tube when the incident occurred."

"We are heartbroken to confirm the death of a Scout yesterday following a tragic accident on Manning Lake in Gilmanton," read a statement from the Daniel Webster Council. "We offer our deepest condolences to the Scout's family and ask everyone to please join in keeping this young man and his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
 

 

Sources:

https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/scout-dies-on-manning-lake-in-gilmanton/article_9ee64a1e-3200-5fe1-983f-2eb07cb7055e.html

https://seacoastcurrent.com/boy-scout-dies-in-boating-accident-on-nh-lake/

NH State Police Report:

https://www.nhsp.dos.nh.gov/news-and-media/three-deaths-new-hampshire-waters

Awaiting NH Fish & Game Rescue Report

Edited July 9, 2023 by RememberSchiff
added NH State Police report

[RememberSchiff]

Update 2/4/25:

The parents of Scout Keoni Hubbard are accusing Scouting America of violating its duty of keeping children in its care safe.

In a lawsuit, they are "alleging  that Scouting America violated many of its own safety rules, including having a qualified boating operator who is over 21, that the boat operator be a trained lifeguard and that there should be a second person on that boat serving as a lookout for the children in the water. "

Sources:

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/02/04/boy-scout-killed-2023-new-hampshire-boating-accident-lawsuit/

https://www.wmur.com/article/boy-scout-boating-accident-lawsuit-2425/63667843

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:18 PM by RememberSchiff

[scoutldr]

I don't see where the boat operator must be a "trained lifeguard"....

[RememberSchiff]

I would assume that all camp aquatic staff had current lifeguard certification*, but then when one assumes...

I found this curious document BSA Aquatics Staff Guide , Revised 3/15/2022, 148 pages.

https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AQUATICS-STAFF-GUIDE-10072020.pdf

page 17 Staff Training, Pre-Camp Training

Only 50% of the aquatics staff must be BSA LifeGuard certification? IMHO, seemingly a half-way measure.

Meanwhile NPR picked up the story

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-02-04/parents-allege-boy-scouts-failed-to-prevent-sons-2023-death-at-gilmanton-camp

 

*Note BSA Lifeguard certification ended Dec, 2024. Seek training through Y, Red Cross,...

Edited 14 hours ago by RememberSchiff

[HashTagScouts]

4 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

I would assume that all camp aquatic staff had current lifeguard certification*, but then when one assumes...

I found this curious document BSA Aquatics Staff Guide , Revised 3/15/2022, 148 pages.

https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AQUATICS-STAFF-GUIDE-10072020.pdf

page 17 Staff Training, Pre-Camp Training

Only 50% of the aquatics staff must be BSA LifeGuard certification? IMHO, seemingly a half-way measure.

Meanwhile NPR picked up the story

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-02-04/parents-allege-boy-scouts-failed-to-prevent-sons-2023-death-at-gilmanton-camp

 

*Note BSA Lifeguard certification ended Dec, 2024. Seek training through Y, Red Cross,...

Yes, I would agree that only having half your staff as lifeguard cert is a concern. In the specifics of this tragic event, under the BSA aquatics policy, having the aquatics director as the sole individual over the age of 21 then would place them as the "supervisor". But if that individual isn't in actual position as to truly observe the operations and movement of that motorboat, is it really actually supervision? Knowing Hidden Valley, the swimming and canoe/kayak/rowboat area is on one side of the lake and the motorboat launch is on the opposite side (that is at one of the lakes, they also have a waterfront on a different lake that was mainly for small boat sailing). Then there is Camp Bell (both together, Hidden Valley and Camp Bell make up Griswold SR), where the main waterfront is a good distance to the opposite end of the lake. ultimate question is how many staff 21+ do they have at each of the waterfronts? I'm sure that is the angle this attorney is going to use in arguments, if that aquatics director age 21+ was on the other side of the lake when this occurred, then to the family the camp is negligent that it would be unreasonable to assume they could observe and react to what is happening several hundred feet away.

Edited 10 hours ago by HashTagScouts

[Eagle94-A1]

It has been a very long time since I served on summer camp staff, and a long time since I did BSA Lifeguard but here are my thoughts regarding the 50% rule.

1. At the camps I worked at, not all hired staff were BSA Lifeguards, some were Red Cross and a few, like me, were YMCA. And some were not certified in any program at all prior to staff week. However by the end of staff week, they everyone usually was certified. My camps may have been the exception though.

2. Volunteer staff, i.e. CITs, SMs helping out, Aquatics Supervision candidates, and BSA Lifeguard candidates, do count towards that total staffing number, if memory serves. For BSA Lifeguard we had to do so many hours of lifeguarding duty, and I think the same for Aquatics Supervision as well. I have both Aquatic Supervision certs, and I have volunteered to help out on the waterfront many times.  So volunteer staff will affect the percentages

3. Sometimes staff on light duties will be assigned to aquatics. Also some staff will be assigned to help out in peak hours. They usually man the watchtower,  the entrances, and putting on life-jackets. That way more lifeguards can be in positions to help people. I vividly remember the long time staffer at one camp who was a non-swimmer, but ALWAYS manned the watchtower, and didn't need a whistle or bullhorn. FYS. And of course these folks also affect percentages.

 

[mrjohns2]

"According to court documents, the boat's propeller struck Keoni while he was swimming in the lake."