7 Youth Wards Hospitalized After Taking Drug at Camp, Police Say
Seven teen-agers, all wards of the court, were taken to local hospitals Saturday after ingesting an unidentified drug while at a weekend youth camp, police said.
“We just aren’t sure what they took,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Lynn Nehring. “They were found under the influence of some kind of drug.”
The teen-agers, all from Riverside County, were spending the weekend at the Lazy W Ranch on Hot Springs Road when an emergency call came in around 3:45 p.m.
Four teen-agers were rushed to Children’s Hospital at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo where they were in good to fair condition Saturday night, said hospital spokesman Orman Day. Three other teen-agers were taken to Samaritan Medical Center in San Clemente where they were listed in stable condition.
Nehring said investigators were still unsure where the youths got the drugs or the circumstances of the incident.
The teen-agers, all 16 to 18 years old, were brought in by the Lazy W Ranch from group homes around Southern California for a weekend retreat, he said.
A woman at the Lazy W Ranch who identified herself as Judy confirmed that the teen-agers were at the camp, but said she had no further information on the incident.
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