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Teen's accidental death investigated

A teen from North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, died Monday after falling from a rocky area in a Somerset County state forest.

Nathan Kanczes, 15, was attending a teen wilderness camp at YMCA Deer Valley Camp in Fort Hill when the incident occurred. He was attending the camp through Camp Kon-O-Kwee Spencer in Beaver County.

Both entities are operated by the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, whose president and CEO Kevin Bolding offered condolences.

“Our hearts and prayers are with his family as well as with his fellow campers and the staff who were blessed to know him,” he said in a statement.

The incident occurred just before 12:30 p.m. Nathan, a student at Norwin High School, was flown to Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center, where he died. Additional details about the incident have not been released. Bolding’s statement indicated the YMCA is working “closely with authorities to investigate the accident and are reviewing safety protocols of the Teen Wilderness Camp.”

The camp was canceled for the remainder of the week, and Bolding said the YMCA would provide grief counseling to campers and staff “for as long as necessary.”

“Our primary focus remains the physical and emotional well-being of all our campers and staff,” he said.

Bolding’s statement indicates that Nathan was a counselor in training at Camp Kon-O-Kwee. Calls to the Beaver County camp on Wednesday were directed to the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

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