Family of boy who drowned at summer camp suing city

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a 5-year-old boy who drowned at summer camp is planning to sue the city of Chattahoochee Hills.

Benjamin Kamau Hosch died last month while attending Camp Cricket at the Cochran Mill Nature Center.

Police said he was with a small group of children who took their lunch near a waterfall. It wasn’t until the group of 13 children and four adults got ready to head back to camp that they noticed Benjamin was missing.

He was found in the water, went into cardiac arrest and died at the hospital.

“I paid them to kill my baby,” Benjamin’s mother said.

The camp has been shut down.

The boy’s family said the city had a responsibility to vet a camp within its jurisdiction.

“I don’t understand why the city would allow the camp to operate without a business license,” attorney L. Chris Stewart said. “One hundred and twenty dollars a week. Thousands of kids. How is a company doing that without a license?”

Channel 2's Nicole Carr used Guidestar to find the nonprofit nature center's latest financial disclosures, which showed more than $300,000 in assets and less than $1,000 in liabilities.

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According to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, the camp was not licensed but the department said in some cases, camps don’t have to register with the state or get a license.

The department later confirmed Cochran Mill Nature Center had never notified the state of Camp Cricket. The camp was neither licensed nor exempt in its two decades of operation.

The city of Chattahoochee Hills said it has no affiliation with the nature center or camp. According to an open records request, the City Council votes on nature measures, and in their personal time, the mayor and city attorney serve on the nonprofit’s board.

Chattahoochee Hills requires business licensures of day cares that match the operational definition of the camp. In a statement, the city manager said the city does not issue business licenses or collect occupational taxes from nonprofits.

The city attorney isn’t representing the city in the case and although the city has no affiliation with the camp, it has turned the Hosch family claim over to their property and casualty insurance company legal counsel.

“We are just awaiting proof from Cochran Mill Nature Center or the city, that they did their job,” Stewart said.

The contact information for the nature center has been removed from its website.

Board members have either not responded to inquires or cited their attorney’s advice not to discuss the case during litigation. A criminal investigation is still underway through Fulton County.

The family will file the suit following that investigation, unless a settlement is reached.

Cox Media Group