http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/clawson-bowman-jr-dead-boyscouts_n_3411249.html

Pretty sure he's a mormon since he's mentioned in an obituary of his wife in the Deseret News as being temple married.

People are not even suppose to be out hiking!! Unless they are experienced and live in this desert!..I only go in the am!!..Thats crazy..just stupid!...

Apparently, there are warnings posted everywhere near the trails. It's not like a fluke that it gets hotter than Hades there in the summer.

Boulder City, Nevada, which is where this story originates was in the new earlier thanks to locals trying to fight "mormon control."

Excerpt below:


About 16 percent of Boulder City residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints, but the Mormons control just about every position of political power.

The mayor and all but one of the city council members are Mormon.

The city manager they hired is Mormon.

So is the city attorney.

The state assemblywomen for the area is Mormon.

So is the state senator. So is the county commissioner. The new interim police chief isn't Mormon, but he's married to a relative of a Mormon councilwoman.[end excerpt]

Link: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/21948751/i-team-embattled-chief-mormons-control-boulder-city

Here is the obit for Clawson Bowman Jr.'s wife, the obit that identifies him as a convert to the LDS Church.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1268763/Obituary-Nolana-Mae-Bowman.html?pg=all

Excerpt below:

Nolana Mae Bowman, 63, passed away Thursday, June 24, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She was born into the Worsley family December 7, 1940 in Long Beach, California. She was raised in the Salt Lake City area of Utah and graduated from West High in 1959. She served in the Mexico West Mission from March 1965 through February 1967 for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was married in the Los Angeles California Temple to Clawson Calvert "Cal" Bowman, Jr. in November 1967.[end excerpt]

Yes, the scout leader was mormon. Add his poor judgement to the long list of mormon scout leaders who exercised poor judgement, who put Boy Scouts in danger.

Quite apart from killing himself, Bowman almost killed five other human beings. The news covering this tragedy online is accompanied by lots of obvious mormon commenters saying that Bowman died serving his community. See examples from the comments section here:
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/22541186/breaking-news-1-dead

They sent a 69 year old guy out into the desert when there was a 'heat warning'?

Great planning...

If it was anything like my experience, they sent him because he didn't need to ask for a day off.

http://dailyross.com/2010/02/the-bsas-mormon-problem/

Excerpt below:

If the BSA is to move into the 21st Century, it might have to without the LDS Church. One of the reasons the Councils, including my old Council the Nevada Area Council, allow the LDS to shift the program to their needs is the cash that comes from membership (membership that is grossly inflated). The LDS are allowed to play by their own rules while all the Units and Religious Organizations are forced to follow the LDS moral policies.[end excerpt]

Info pertaining to a past lawsuit alleging abuse in mormon Boy Scout troops in Nevada:

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20091117/NEWS/911179995

I KNEW it!
The minute I heard about it I said to DH I bet they were Mormons.

117F in Las Vegas yesterday and what is a 69 year old doing marching kids around in that heat.

Not an ounce of common sense and the weird underwear probably contributed to him keeling over.

It seems like we hear about deaths of a 5 - 10 boy scouts each year that are LDS. I never hear about non LDS boy scouts being killed during troop activities. Is it because we don't post about them? Or is there a higher incidence of fatal accidents in LDS troops? Any statistics available on this? Where would I look it up?

Hi--I'm a reporter in the Las Vegas area following up on this. Does anyone know Mr. Bowman?

edonatelli@mynews3.com

I was also thinking this was a Mormon scouting incident, since I've never heard of a non-Mormon Boy Scout or leader dying or getting stuck in dangerous weather conditions. For some reason, LDS scouting causes some to do things most sensible people wouldn't do, such as going on a desert hike during a heat warning in the summer.

Having spent the vast majority of my life on the Arizona part of the Sonoran desert I find it aabsolutely mind boggling that any sane person would go hiking in this heat without good head cover and lots of water. I am 77 years old and I tell you for sure I am NOT that stupod!!!

An LDS man discusses scouting and the mormon church:
http://torymathis.blogspot.com/p/note-about-scouting-and-lds-church.html

Note the careful attempt to avoid blaming the church for the poor safety record of mormon troops, while also noting:

"LDS Scouting leaders typically don't volunteer themselves. Like every other job in the church, those who fill these positions are asked, or "called" to accept an assignment. We believe that our church "callings" are inspired by the Lord. This should result in the best scout leaders on the planet. And often it does. But this practice also results in other challenges that may not be seen elsewhere. ..."

I think the Boy Scouts of America should do a better job of reporting accidents and deaths. They no doubt have these statistics, but make them hard to find.

In December of 2010, the Los Angeles Times put together its own list of Boy Scout outing deaths:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/05/nation/la-na-scouts-list-online-20101205

It would require more digging to update the list, and to match deaths and/or injuries to mormon troops.

Some stories related to mormon troops:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56287928-78/davis-badges-merit-eagle.html.csp

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56309231-82/courage-lack-scout-behavior.html.csp

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56385343-82/gay-scout-scouts-leader.html.csp "In my years as a Scout, I was almost killed three times by a Scout leader. Twice by accident; once on purpose. Competence and mental stability are definitely not prerequisites for the position, only sexual orientation."

More stories about mormon scout troops getting into trouble:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=24881734

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=960&sid=20856694 "he parents of a Las Vegas boy who drowned while scuba diving at a Scout camp have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against against the Boy Scouts of America."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=22220480 "Greeting Romney at airport was violation of Boy Scout policy"

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=22085864 "The boys and their leaders sought shelter from a hailstorm "on top of a ridge," rather than inside the mess hall that was 100 feet away, the families contend."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=21460485 "Search and rescue teams responded to a group of boy scouts and their leaders Saturday after the group became stranded on steep terrain in Perry Canyon.

Box Elder County Sheriff Lynn Yeates said the five scouts and two adults had been hiking near Willard Peak since Thursday when they became trapped on a mountain face. One of the scout leaders was able to call 911 and informed authorities that the group was running low on water."

I work in news in Las Vegas. We actually learned yesterday it was 7 boys on the hike and 3 leaders. The ranger told our reporter the group left at 5 am, and had problems around 9. Some of the group stayed behind with the older man, while others went ahead. Somehow 4 boys ended up on their own, and they were the ones who called 911.

When we first heard this story, my husband who was a Scout leader for years immediately said "This HAS to be a Mormon group". No one would confirm it yesterday, but it's looking like the case. There have been heat advisories for days in this area. I want to know what parents thought this was okay!

More links to stories of mormon Boy Scout troops in trouble:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16361829 "A 12-year-old Boy Scout has died after being pulled from Bear Lake Wednesday, a Boy Scouts of America spokesman said. Officials say the boy is from Las Vegas and was scuba diving when the accident occurred on the east side of the lake, north of Laketown..."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=20940821 "Kreg Harrison Jr., of St. George, known as KJ to his friends, drowned in a pool at Mooney Falls in Supai Canyon, according to a statement from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. The incident happened just after 2 p.m.

Kreg was part of the Green Valley 6th Ward Scout Troop 1800. There were 19 boys and 12 adults at the outing, according to the sheriff's office. He and a couple of other boys attempted to swim under the waterfall."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16580261 “Operating the boat after dark is a very dangerous situation. It requires a pretty good knowledge of the lake. We do not recommend at all that people operate their vessels after dark,” King said.

He added that even riding a park service boat fully equipped with radar, night vision, spotlights and GPS gear "is a pretty freaky experience."

The boat hit an outcropping of rock that extends out from the rim of Glen Canyon into the lake, King said.

Matt was a youth leader among the group of boys, his bishop said. “There was a young man who could really lead.”

Mores stories of mormon boy scout troops and accidents, abuse or deaths:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19369438

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=309885 "A woman whose son died in a fall during a Boy Scout hike in Zion National Park is suing the Boy Scouts of America, the Utah National Parks Council and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2711590 "An Oregon man is suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Boy Scouts of America for alleged sexual abuse."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8699374 "Men file abuse suits against LDS Church, Boy Scouts"

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18646591 "Year-end review: Utah scouts saw tragedy in 2011"

Don't be knocking the Morman's they would be there for u in a heart beat!!!!!!

Only if they think there's a chance you will convert.

Attempting to fit yet another scouting activity into an already

too crammed schedule of church activities causes many a scout

leader to try to defy mother nature. (weather reports be damned

that's the only available weekend) Doesn't work out very well.


I'm only surprised that church-wide there aren't more

calamities.