Carbon monoxide poisoning kills Boy Scout

RICE LAKE, Wis. (AP) -- A 15-year-old St. Paul, Minn., boy died this week from carbon monoxide poisoning at Tomahawk Scout Reservation camp where he was a counselor.

Neal Kwong was found dead in his bed Tuesday after failing to show up for breakfast at the camp near Rice Lake in northwestern Wisconsin. He was one of 15 staffers who stayed on an extra week to help close up the camp for the season.

Officials suspect that a gas heater in a cabin malfunctioned, Kent York, a spokesman for the Indianhead Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said Friday.

The Ramsey County (Minn.) medical examiner determined the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

Kwong, who became an Eagle Scout at age 13, had been a counselor at the camp all summer.

York said Kwong's father, Gary W. Kwong, invited the entire camp staff to a memorial service Sunday in Minnesota.

"He said the time he spent serving on camp staff was the highlight of his son's life," York said Friday.

York said the council has acted to prevent any further accidents at the camp.

Camp buildings with heating equipment or gas appliances will be tested and have carbon monoxide detectors installed, he said. Buildings used year-round already have detectors, but the cabin where Kwong died was not used all year.

It was the camp's second serious accident in two years.

Last year, a 14-year-old Scout was dragged from his tent by a black bear. The boy suffered bites and a dislocated shoulder but recovered from the injuries.

The memorial service for Kwong is scheduled at 7 p.m. Sunday at United Church of Christ in New Brighton, Minn.

York said the family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations in Kwong's name be made to the council's Campership Fund, a scholarship program that sends disadvantaged Scouts to camp.