Grandfather arrested for forcing 3 grandsons 8-12 hike Grand Canyon w/o water, rest 108 temps

[RamboLiberal]

An Indiana man was arrested for forcing his three young grandchildren to take hours-long hikes in the Grand Canyon's scorching heat - and refusing to let them rest or drink water.

The three boys - aged 12, 9 and 8 - were exhausted and malnourished when police rushed them to the hospital, officials said Thursday.

Their grandfather, Christopher Carlson, was charged with six counts of child abuse and cops claim he repeatedly ignored the boys' pleas to stop the hikes in 108-degree temperatures.

The boys told authorities they were "hit, pushed, choked, kicked, pinched, squeezed, and whipped," according to court papers.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/09/02/2011-09-02_indiana_grandfather_arrested_for_allegedly_abusing_boys_during_grand_canyon_hike.html#ixzz1Wq0bx3N3

Hope this jerk is never allowed near these kids again!

[mwrguy]

1. He was teaching them to be boot-strappy

[XanaDUer]

2. Okay, this is weird, the "grandfather" looks about 22 yrs old

WTF?

He had kids when he was ten?

[Bluenorthwest]

3. The article says he is 45

?

[XanaDUer]

5. Okay, he's a sadistic nut

but he looks mahvalous!

[CreekDog]

4. it's worse: 19 miles in a day, likely 5000+ ft elevation gain

i can't tell but the article in the OP describes a 7.5 mile trail to the river (seems like Kaibab --shortest from South Rim to Colorado River at about 7 miles)...return on less steep Bright Angel Trail is 9 miles.

AZ Central article describes 19 miles in a day. Perhaps down, around and back up --brutal and at the river, temperatures well over 100 with little air movement.

When I worked there we told people NOT to try to walk down and up the same day especially when temperatures were over 100 --they were often in the low 80's at the rim (7000 ft elevation) but brutal at the river (2000 ft elevation roughly).

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. It's even worse than the article suggests.

Read this, http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/court-documents-detail-alleged-abuse-by-indy-grandfather and then click on the link to the court document, which is the complaint against this guy. He's an absolute sadist and I hope they throw the book at him. What he put those kids through is horrendous.

[knitter4democracy]

12. Open sores! I wish someone had pushed that guy off the edge.

I don't normally condone violence, but those kids almost died. The hell he put them through will never leave them.

[catchnrelease]

21. Horrendous is an understatement

I read that court document and this guy should be crucified at the very least. I also noticed in there that it says the 3 boys are African American. No comment.

[indepat]

7. Grandfather is fortunate not to be facing murder charges in addition to reckless

endangerment of minors. :patriot:

[TK421]

8. fucker...kill him n/t

[EFerrari]

9. I'm so happy this @sshole was caught.

Those poor kids. They could have died down there.

[formercia]

20. Caught on Public Land= Federal Charges.

That makes it 6 FEDERAL counts. He won't fare well in Prison. The GP have a thing for Child Abusers.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. I was planning on hiking down to the river, but

when I was watching people (grown fit adults) coming back up crying, I changed my mind. I cannot imagine what these kids went through. And not to have water, when you really need a lot of water when you are hiking the Grand Canyon, is dangerous.

This is one bastard who should not be in society.

[CreekDog]

15. 5000 ft elevation gain from the bottom --with the worst of it at the END of the hike

so after you walk 15 miles roundtrip, the steepest part is the next mile.

yikes.

[begin_within]

11. He'll probably become the next Joe Arpaio

[phantom power]

13. Those kids are lucky to be alive.

[dembotoz]

14. a discussion with the kids parents might be good too

would you leave your kids to the care of grampa whacky???

[Divernan]

16. Oldest kid is 12; grandfather is 45. He became a grandfather at 33?!?!?

Must be a helluva sordid back story on this family. Hope the authorities check out the children's parents. The guy has a criminal record - parents should never have let him near these kids unsupervised.

From the OP link:
Rangers then arrested Carlson, who has a lengthy rap sheet in his hometown of Indianapolis, according to records. He did not offer an explanation for the hikes.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/09/02/2011-09-02_indiana_grandfather_arrested_for_allegedly_abusing_boys_during_grand_canyon_hike.html#ixzz1Wq9wmOtQ

[FedUpWithIt All]

22. I read somewhere the other day that he had done this to these kids on more than one vacation.

During the abuse he also "aggressively squeezed their private parts" in addition to the other tortuous abuse they suffered at his hand.

"He said his goal was to prepare them for the cruel world and to strengthen them during recent hikes in tropical locales, including Honduras, Belize and Guatemala, the ranger said."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032766/Grandfather-whipped-kicked-choked-boys-Grand-Canyon-hikes-hell-brought-brink-death.html#ixzz1Ws01vYKv

[virgogal]

17. It's a miracle those boys survived. Grandpa is sadistic maniac.

[Warpy]

18. This guy is psychotic. He needs to be evaluated for a lot of stuff

right off the bat. The time line is also wrong for his being their grandfather.

In any case, this loon needs to be locked up until the kids are grown up enough to fight back.

[Le Taz Hot]

24. Actually, the timeline is a very real possibility.

My cousin, 59, who was a grandparent at 39, just found out she's about to be a GREAT grandparent.

[Warpy]

26. I have a female cousin who was a granny at 32

She had her first kid at 15 and her daughter had a kid at 17. It's just very, very unusual for males, either because they flake out and disappear from their offspring's life or they just mature a little bit later than girls and don't start producing offspring until late teens, at the very least.

I didn't say it was impossible, just unlikely.

And I've never forgiven my cousin for making me feel older than I am. She's now a great-great granny.

[Le Taz Hot]

28. I hear you.

Nowadays my conversation at family reunions consist mostly of, "Now, tell me who your grandmother/great-grandmother is again?"

[chelsea0011]

19. Hopefully he gets jail time for this. He is inhuman.

I hiked to the end of the Plateau in 100+ and was worried I would run out of water, a necessity for survival. But, it is a glorious place to hike when one takes the necessary precautions. It is surreal to hike down the canyon wall and then turn around and look up and try to figure out where yopu just came down and how the hell can I ever get back up there.

[cutlassmama]

23. the boys are lucky that rangers passed by and saw their condition. They could have easily died

at the hands of this maniac.

[Le Taz Hot]

25. Why did the parents allow this psychopath to take their children?

And apparently, this isn't the first time he's pulled this shit. There's something WAY more wrong than is contained in this story.

[Warpy]

27. Imagine how this POS has bullied his children all their lives

The whole damn family needs therapy to break away from him and his nuttiness.