Geez, that's scary -- I've camped there several times -- might not be the same campsite, though......

Laurie

: Apparently, in this case, looking up, down and around wouldn't have
: made any difference! Wrong place at the wrong time.

: DEEP releases name of camper killed by tree at Selden Neck

: By Judy Benson

: Publication: theday.com
: Published 11/07/2011 12:00 AM
: Updated 11/07/2011 02:53 PM

: Lyme – The Old Lyme woman killed early Sunday at Selden Neck
: State Park had been camping overnight with five other people
: when a tree fell on her tent shortly after midnight.

: Ruth Byrne, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene, an uninhabited
: 607-acre island in the Connecticut River accessible only by
: water. Her companion in the tent, Mark Benedict, 59, of Essex,
: was severely injured, said Peter Woodcock, chief of the Deep
: River Fire Department, which was the lead responder. Benedict
: was taken to shore in one of the four town fire boats that
: responded to the scene, then put on a Deep River ambulance
: waiting on shore that transported him to a landing site for
: LifeStar Helicopter. LifeStar then flew Benedict to Yale-New
: Haven Hospital.

: This afternoon, Benedict was listed in critical condition,
: according to a Yale-New Haven Hospital spokeswoman.

: Emergency crews from Essex, Old Saybrook, Chester and the state
: Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded
: to the incident. Woodcock said one of the other campers
: telephoned for help after the tree fell, and the group lit a
: large fire near their campsite to help the emergency crews find
: them in the dark. The other four campers were ferried off the
: island after Byrne and Benedict were taken off, Woodcock said.

: The park has been officially closed for camping since the regular
: end of the season Sept. 30. During the camping season, campers
: are required to obtain a permit and pay a camping fee. There are
: four primitive camping sites on the island, with outhouses,
: picnic tables and pit fireplaces.

: DEEP Environmental Conservation Police Sgt. Ryan Healy said the
: group had camped on the island previously, and that the tree
: that fell did not appear to have been partially knocked down in
: the recent storms, but had been growing on an outcropping with
: no visible signs of weakness until it toppled.

: "It was just a freak thing," he said.

: DEEP is continuing to investigate the incident.