SOURCE: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/3303849p-4330051c.html

Two die in solstice sweat lodge ritual
The pair may have asphyxiated inside the sealed enclosure.

By Walt Wiley -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Saturday, June 22, 2002
A man and woman died of unknown causes early Friday while participating in a summer solstice sweat lodge ritual in a rural area of El Dorado County. Kirsten Dana Babcock, 34, of Redding and David Thomas Hawker, 36, of Union City were participating in a ritual described to deputies as a "vision quest," said El Dorado County Sheriff's Lt. Kevin House. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday to determine the cause of death, "but it appears they died from some sort of asphyxiation," House said. The two were with another man and woman in a makeshift sweat lodge into which they had sealed themselves for a four-hour cleansing ritual, chanting amid the vapors of herbs and water poured over the hot rocks, the survivors told officers.

About 1 ½ hours into the ordeal, the surviving woman became dizzy and nauseated and left the lodge, and minutes later the chanting from within the lodge ceased, witnesses told sheriff's investigators. The surviving man then crawled out, and other participants in the solstice event went inside to find Babcock and Hawker unresponsive. House said the rescuers reported "unusual odors" of unknown origin coming from the lodge. "Our investigators collected herbs and water and other articles from the lodge to see if there were any toxics or anything present to contribute to these deaths," he said.

He said Babcock and Hawker were part of a group of perhaps 35 who had gathered in a remote area of the forest near Omo Ranch to participate in what they described to officers as an American Indian ritual to observe the summer solstice.

Signs on the road directed visitors to a "Vision Quest." The sweat lodge where the deaths occurred was made of a wooden frame shaped in a near-circle about 10 feet in diameter and covered with plastic sheeting, which was buried in the ground around the lower edge to make it airtight. The plastic was covered with sleeping bags and blankets to keep in the heat. The participants told officers that they were seeking spiritual enlightenment by sitting in the steam in the sealed environment. The gathering did not appear to be sponsored by any tribal organization, and none of the participants said they were of American Indian ancestry, House said. House, a 20-year veteran of county law enforcement, said he knows of no local Indian groups that use such sweat lodge rituals.

About the Writer

--------------------------- The Bee's Walt Wiley can be reached at (916) 321-1063 or wwiley@sacbee.com .