Lake Forest teen dies on camping trip

• Reprints

Ellie Burns

Updated: November 2, 2011 1:10AM

Elizabeth Burns, 16, of Lake Forest died Monday afternoon in Wyoming’s Teton Wilderness when she was struck by a falling 75-foot tree while she was on a camping trip.

Burns, who would have been a junior at Lake Forest High School this fall, is the daughter of Sally and Michael Burns. Michael is a former Second Ward alderman in Lake Forest.

The Teton County Sheriff’s Office received a satellite telephone call at 2:45 p.m. July 18 from Wilderness Ventures, a commercial backpacking company in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that Burns was struck by a falling tree and severely injured.

Burns was approximately 66 feet away from the base of the tree helping to set up camp, when other group members attempted to hang food in a “bear bag” in the dead 75-foot tree.

Burns, who was kneeling down tending to camp equipment when she was struck, never regained consciousness, witnesses said.

A Teton Interagency helicopter, with Grand Teton Park Search and Rescue members aboard, flew to the campsite, which was approximately 50 miles northeast of Jackson Hole near the Turpin Meadow trailhead in the Teton Wilderness.

The Class of 2013 student was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:35 p.m. She suffered numerous injuries but the suspected cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“This is an incredible family and an amazing young woman. Our school community is deeply saddened by this tragic event,” said Harry Griffith, superintendent of LFHS and Lake Forest District 67.

The tree that struck the former LFHS Pom Pons member was 24 inches in diameter at its base. The portion that struck Burns was 9 inches in diameter.

Burns was with a group of 14 -- a dozen 16-year-olds and two adult leaders -- who were on a Wilderness Ventures trip. On its website, Wilderness Ventures is billed as “The Worldwide Leader in Student Outdoor Adventures.”

Mike and Helen Cottingham, the founders, owners and directors of Wilderness Ventures, were unavailable for comment when telephoned Tuesday.

The Teton County Sheriff’s Office is treating the incident as an “accidental death,” according to Captain Tripp Wilson.

Park rangers hiked out the remaining members of the camping group to the Togwotee Mountain Lodge, where they were met by crisis counselors from Grand Teton National Park.