The camp counselor who left a 7-year-old Norridge boy at a water park during a day camp field trip in June has been suspended as part of an ongoing investigation by The Salvation Army, the nonprofit organization that runs the camp.
The Norridge Salvation Army launched an investigation into its roll call procedures and implemented new training requirements for staff after 7-year-old Peter Rapatas was left behind after a daytime outing to Seafari Springs at the Hanover Park District on June 21.
When it was time to board the bus back to the camp, the boy’s mother, Gina Rapatas, said her 9-year-old daughter Thalia asked the camp director to wait for her brother, Peter, who was not on the bus. That director, Jeff Rowland, allegedly ignored Thalia’s pleas to hold the bus that was transporting the kids back to camp. He has since been suspended, Salvation Army spokeswoman Melanie Scofield confirmed.
The Rapatas family has since filed a complaint with the Department of Children and Family Services.
“DCFS is processing the complaint,” Scofield said. “They will be providing any recommendations at a later date, but due to privacy issues relating to respect for human resources and client privacy obligations and policies, The Salvation Army cannot provide any additional information regarding the (investigation).”
The organization is tightening its camp safety procedures to avoid a similar incident in the future, Scofield said in an email. Roll call procedures during field trips are being reviewed, and the camp is requiring staff to undergo additional training, she added.
Rapatas had said she wanted to see the camp director fired over the incident, but The Salvation Army has not made a decision as to whether Rowland’s suspension would be lifted.
A teenage counselor who was present the day the child was left at the water park has left his job, but Scofield said the teen’s departure was unrelated to the incident.
“The counselor’s employment ended at the conclusion of camp as that was a seasonal temporary position,” she said.
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Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.