What Caused the Death of a Boy, 12, Who Arrived at 'Troubled Teen’ Wilderness Camp Hours Earlier? 

North Carolina authorities have revealed the harrowing details that they believe led to the death of a 12-year-old boy one day after he was taken to a “troubled teens” therapy camp in Lake Toxaway in Transylvania County.

The child, who PEOPLE is not naming, was "smothered" and died from asphyxiation on Feb. 3 and his death has been ruled a homicide by the Transylvania County Medical Examiner’s office. 

He was found unresponsive by counselors on the morning of Feb. 3 at Trails Carolina, a self-described “adventure therapy program" that works with teenagers with behavioral concerns. 

The report, which was obtained by PEOPLE, details the circumstances surrounding the death, offering explanations for what the medical examiner believes caused the child to be smothered. The sheriff's office and Trails Carolina did not respond to PEOPLE's inquiries, and the camp has previously denied responsibility.

On the night he arrived at the camp, the boy was placed in a bivy — a small camping tent that encloses a sleeping bag — “without incident,” the report notes, citing investigators and testimonies.  

At the camp, the bivies are placed on plastic sheets, which are then folded up the sides like a “canoe,” per the report. Camp protocol requires the mouth of the bivy to be covered with an “alarm device” to alert counselors if the occupant tries to leave the bivy. 

Because the internal mesh section of the child's bivy was torn, the camp used the “weather-resistant door” on the outer layer of the bivy to secure the boy inside of it, the report states. The alarm device was added to this door.

While the boy was inside, he was moving around and making sounds, prompting counselors to remove him. Once he was outside the bivy, he relaxed and fell asleep, investigators learned. However, he was eventually made to sleep back inside the bivy and once again, counselors noted the boy moving inside until about 1 a.m., the report states.

While there were routine checks during the night, the outer layer of the bivy, which is opaque, didn’t allow counselors to see the child, per the report. 

In the morning, when the counselors couldn't wake him up, they allegedly opened the bivy to find the boy with his head in the “enclosed” corner of the bivy and his feet at the opening of the weather-resistant door.

The Medical Examiner noted that the alarm placed on the bivy's opening and the plastic sheet surrounding the bivy were factors that caused “restriction of breathing” for the child. 

The child was found half-clothed, suggesting that he could have suffered hyperthermia because the construction of the sleeping area could have led to higher temperature, the examiner states.

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Bivies typically come with a product warning that the outer weather resistant opening should not be fully covered as it could result in “condensation and breathing restriction,” according to the state report.

Immediately following the child's death, the camp issued a statement saying they were “shattered" about the death and were cooperating with the investigation, per FOX Carolina. The Transylvania County Sheriff's Office, however, said the camp has “not completely” cooperated, the outlet later reported. The camp has since been closed, and the state has since said it is revoking its license.

The camp has said it had conducted an internal investigation of the incident, which “concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy,” per Fox Carolina.

It wasn’t clear as of Wednesday if any charges have been or would be filed.