Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is a shocking film that covers the wilderness therapy camp set up by Steve Cartisano to bring wayward teenagers under control. However, the death of one participant led to the business being placed under scrutiny, and legal issues and many controversies eventually led to the camp being closed. Cartisano was never charged with any wrongdoing, and although barred from operating in Utah, he would set up similar programs in other areas and continue operating them until his death from a heart attack in 2019. He left behind a legacy of controversy, legal issues, and at least one dead girl.
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Is Steve Cartisano alive or dead?
Steve Cartisano is dead. He passed away peacefully at his home in Durant, Oklahoma on May 4, 2019, at the age of 63. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer six or seven years previously, though in the film, his wife Debbie Cartisano explains that while dealing with the cancer, he actually passed away as the result of a heart attack.
Steve’s death was kept private and many details of it remain slightly unclear.
What happened to the Challenger Camp?
The Challenger Camp would eventually be closed down after the death of sixteen-year-old Kristen Chase, who collapsed and died while on an extreme hike in the wilderness. The death would lead to charges of negligent homicide being made against Cartisano but these charges could not be proved.
The camp would be closed and would face civil lawsuits from families of teenagers who had attended. The camp would charge just under sixteen thousand dollars to send someone there.
Steve Cartisano | Image via Netflix
What happened after Challenger Camp was closed?
Steve was determined to continue his work and decided to operate elsewhere, using a different name. He would set up a camp in Samoa, but this too would end in disaster, with conditions being even worse than before. Teenagers were pretty much being used as slave labor in the retreat, and many would claim they were being held against their will.
The documentary features testimony from some who attended the camp and explains how a leaked videotape would lead the US Embassy to try to find the camp. Once again, the media would flock to Steve, and Cartisano would once again be at the center of legal issues. However, in the aftermath of 9/11, he would manage to evade any real legal discourse.
Steve would be diagnosed with cancer and pass away in 2019 at the age of sixty-three.
Do wilderness camps still exist?
In the U.S. there is still a huge business that revolves around these types of wilderness camps. It is reported that more than 120,000 teens attend these facilities, and often participants share their ordeals.
Paris Hilton famously brought the nature of this type of program into the media spotlight, highlighting the trauma they can cause. On Good Morning America, she came out against Provo Canyon School.
Less well-known than Paris Hilton, Kyra Frankowski is another survivor of similar camps and maintains an entire TikTok account exposing the wilderness survival industry for what it really is:
@whatkyrakept If you’re a parent & would like to speak directly with survivors of these programs about what it’s like, please reach out! I know several other survivors are open to chatting, too. We don’t want what happened to us to happen to anyone else #troubledteenindustry #wildernesstherapy #parents
