Cause unknown; venue was rented by San Diego man

By Felicia Fonseca, ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOENIX - Two people died and an estimated 19 others were taken to hospitals after being overcome while sitting in a sauna-like sweat lodge during a Sedona spiritual retreat, authorities said yesterday.

Sixty-four people were in a crudely constructed sweat lodge at the 70-acre Angel Valley resort Thursday evening, Yavapai County sheriff’s spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn said. The resort is in the forest about 20 minutes from Sedona, a resort town about 115 miles north of Phoenix that is well-known as a center for the New Age spiritual movement.

Many people began feeling ill after about two hours in the building, emerging lightheaded and weak, said Verde Valley Fire District Chief Jerry Doerksen. Authorities haven’t determined the cause of the deaths and illnesses; tests for carbon monoxide and other contaminants were negative. D’Evelyn said authorities were checking into whether any of the attendees had pre-existing medical conditions and the possibility that some of the people might have been fasting.

About 21 people were taken by ambulance or helicopter to local hospitals, where two were pronounced dead, D’Evelyn said. The dead were identified only as a man and woman, both middle-aged.

Three people taken to Flagstaff Medical Center were listed in critical condition yesterday, and a fourth was in fair condition. Three others who were admitted to a hospital in nearby Verde Valley recovered quickly; two of them were released overnight and one was reported in good condition yesterday.

Sheriff’s investigators were working to determine what happened and whether any criminal actions might have been a factor, D’Evelyn said. Investigators were at the resort yesterday interviewing the retreat director, staff and guests, including some who told detectives that they paid up to $9,000 for the multiday program.

A woman who answered the phone at the resort yesterday said its founders, Michael and Amayra Hamilton, would have no comment.

Authorities said self-help expert and author James Arthur Ray rented the facility and was hosting the group inside the dome, a low-lying structure covered with tarps and blankets. In a testimonial on the retreat’s Web site, Ray said it “offers an ideal environment for my teachings and our participants.”

Ray’s company, James Ray International, is based in Carlsbad. He has lived in the San Diego area since 1995, he said in a 2006 interview with the Union-Tribune.

A spokesman for Ray, Howard Bragman, confirmed that Ray was holding an event at the retreat, as he has done in the past.

“We express our deepest condolences to those who lost friends and family, but we pray for a speedy recovery for those who took ill,” Bragman said. “At this point, there are more questions than answers.”

© Copyright 2009 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC

Posted on October 10th, 2009 by hunwut
Filed under: Interesting