WALNUT • In the weeks before a 14-year-old autistic teenager disappeared from Summit’s View Ranch for Boys therapeutic boarding school in rural Alcorn County, a series of sudden staff departures
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Before Nathan Covarrubias disappeared, CPS opened inquiry at Summit's View Ranch
In the weeks before a 14-year-old autistic teenager disappeared from Summit’s View Ranch for Boys therapeutic boarding school in rural Alcorn County, a series of sudden staff departures roiled the school and Child Protective Services began conducting interviews.
The ranch sits in a deeply-rural area in the far northeast corner of Mississippi, just shy of the Tennessee state line and on the Alcorn side of the county line between Alcorn and Tippah. The facility offers itself as a residential therapy program for boys with mental, emotional and behavioral struggles.
Speaking on behalf of Summit’s View director David Lovely, Ashland attorney Tony Farese denied any allegations of wrongdoing, abuse or neglect at the ranch, but acknowledged an ongoing inquiry by CPS.
His parents learned of the CPS investigation in a May 19 email from Lovely, which was given to the Daily Journal by Nathan’s father, Edgar Covarrubias.
The email noted a series of staff departures, including Lovely’s own son and daughter-in-law, and acknowledged a visit from CPS.
“A couple of weeks ago letters were sent from personnel to the Summit’s View Board of Directors that alleged the mishandling of personal health information, slander against our team’s credentials as well as instances of aggression and abuse,” Lovely wrote. “We have been in contact with local authorities regarding the claims and they have been to campus to interview each student to ensure they are safe.”
Nathan had only been at the Summit’s View Ranch for Boys since February, about four months before this email arrived.
The boy’s father, Edgar Covarrubias, only learned more about the CPS visit on Saturday, May 30. This was the day after Nathan disappeared. Edgar and his wife Carrie were driving from their home of Fort Worth, Texas to Mississippi after first learning of Nathan’s disappearance that morning, from a text message that arrived the night before but went unseen until the next day.
“I became aware from the CPS worker that Nathan was on top of their list” for concerns related to “inappropriate discipline,” Covarrubias told the Daily Journal.
Several of the incidents that disturbed Tomlinson involved runaway attempts.
After one runaway attempt in later December or early January, a boy Tomlinson described as an older teen from Texas was handcuffed to an extension ladder laid on the floor of the school gymnasium. A bucket was provided nearby for the boy to relieve himself.
“I looked out, and he is sitting on the floor, concrete floor, handcuffed to a thirty floor ladder that is laying down and he had a mop bucket sitting beside him,” Tomlinson said.
The next day, Ed was again in the gym and saw the same boy, now on his feet and with his hands handcuffed behind his back, flanked by two other students.
But he was on the move. Forcibly.
“Certified handcuffs, behind the back, two boys holding him under each arm, making him walk, he was fighting them,” Tomlinson said. “I saw that directly. I was just going through to get some tools. I actually had to walk around them as they made the turnaround.”
According to Tomlinson, Lovely used students at the ranch to discipline other students.
When Tomlinson started work there, teaching carpentry, mechanical repair and other vo-tech trade skills, Lovely explained discipline procedures.
The ranch uses a technique in which boys are asked to assume a posture of “self-restraint,” Tomlinson said.
“Self-restraint is, you tell them to get into self-restraint, he lays face down puts his hands by his side and just relaxes,” Tomlinson said.
But boys don’t always cooperate. Tomlinson said that Lovely advised how to handle such situations.
“He told me when I hired in, you can’t put your hands on them but if you need them disciplined and they won’t get in self-restraint, if they won’t do it, take two of the older boys and make them put him in restraint,” Tomlinson said. “That was kind of fishy.”
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