19-year-old man found safe in Southern Nevada desert

Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 | 11:21 a.m.

Diego Arteaga

Nye County Sheriff's Office deputies reunited 19-year-old Diego Arteaga with his parents about 10:45 p.m. Thursday at a McDonald's restaurant in Pahrump.

Diego's parents, Dr. Albert and Maria Arteaga, had filed a missing person's report after their son left a camp on foot Monday in Armagosa Valley about 60 miles north of Pahrump.

"We are so grateful for the many people who called in tips to us and to the wonderful people of Pahrump who listened to our story and helped us find our lost son," the father said.

Diego Arteaga has attention deficit disorder (ADD), Albert Arteaga said. His son had been staying at a camp in the Amargosa Desert for about a year, when he walked away Monday without food, water, identification or a cell phone.

Discussion: 20 comments so far…

By JPM42

8/14/09 at 11:29 a.m.

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With so many desert tragedies in the news recently.. very good to read this story. Hopefully this young man can get the help he needs
By LasVegas2009

8/14/09 at 11:32 a.m.

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McDonalds? If I had been held for a year in camp I didnt wanna be at you would find me at the cat house.
By rejco100

8/14/09 at 11:41 a.m.

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Sad thing is, now they will put this kid in a locked cell, stripped to his undies, triple dose his brain-frying Psycho-Wacko prescribed meds until he is in a Zombie-Like state, and screaming in a whispers that no one can hear "Someone help me, please......"
By davidwayneosedach

8/14/09 at 12:10 p.m.

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Thank God they found him alive and unharmed. He obviously needs to be watched more closely.
By LasVegas2009

8/14/09 at 12:20 p.m.

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Watched more closely? He's a grown man! Leave him alone.

Dude run, run, run and dont look back!!!!

Why are these people from this camp holding him?
Did he commit a crime? Is he not a free citizen?
Leave him alone!
By FROMNYC2LV

8/14/09 at 12:47 p.m.

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The parents care about him when he disappears, but he has been at this camp for a year? He has ADD (maybe something else in addition to that) too much for them to deal with apparently, so off he goes to camp! Wonder if they ever visit.
By henderson

8/14/09 at 1:16 p.m.

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Seriously, who lives at camp for a year? I want to know more about this camp. I didn't find anything on google.
By rawaccess

8/14/09 at 1:21 p.m.

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no kidding, i want to know what camp in the desert this is too...
By JGoff

8/14/09 at 1:38 p.m.

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C'mon Las Vegas Sun, do a little investigative journalism on this "camp."
By LasVegas2009

8/14/09 at 1:44 p.m.

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Yeah we need to know more about this "camp" and what goes on out there. Who runs it? Does it have any state or federal funding? Who oversees the day to day operations? Do they have a legal right to hold this man? What crime did he commit? Why was he out there for a year? I want some answers about this place. I hope the police investigate and see what is going on.
By LasVegas2009

8/14/09 at 1:49 p.m.

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I got friends who have ADD one owns a business he started from the ground up! So don't tell me just because someone has ADD they should be locked up in a remote camp forced to do who knows what. ADD is not an issue that warrants constant supervision. I am very concerned about this "CAMP" so how many people with ADD do they have locked up out there?
By lilmama

8/14/09 at 2:45 p.m.

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I am glad to hear they found him. For those of you asking about the camp I am going to guess that it is actually the Horizon Academy out in Amargosa. I hear that they have an excellent program for troubled young people. I dont know all the rules and regulations for the school but they do have a website. May help some of you out
By henderson

8/14/09 at 3:25 p.m.

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Interesting info lil.

I looked at the website and there is nothing preventing this young man from leaving. It's sort of like a boarding school for bad teens.
By LV4LIFE

8/14/09 at 3:47 p.m.

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WTF!
By lilmama

8/14/09 at 4:38 p.m.

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henderson
From what I know and can tell about this place. It is not a prison or boot camp it s a very high priced private school. I would also like to say people should not judge something/place they dont know anything about. (not speaking about you henderson) Also dont judge this family you do not know their situation or their childs situation or needs
By henderson

8/14/09 at 4:48 p.m.

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The website is really informative. It's a school for troubled teens. They have to earn their rewards. They have to meet certain expectations before they can even have phone privileges.

Not a bad thing, I know some kids that should probably be there.

I think the big mistake was on the part of the Sun referring to it as "camp" when it's really a boarding school. I mean camp is fun, but who's at camp for a year?
By djsmelko

8/14/09 at 9:23 p.m.

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He has ADD? so what! leave him alone.
By henderson

8/15/09 at 7:35 a.m.

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djsmelko,

I'm guessing ADD is not his only problem.
By NielsJensen

9/13/09 at 8:21 a.m.

Suggest removal

At least the victim list of residential treatment

(http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=...)

did not have to be updated this time. The last entry is not a month old.

While I understand that the design of the justice system does not take illnesses like ADD into consideraton and it could let parents to detain their children preventive to warehouse them into adulthood, it is sad that such places exist because people are not properly prepared to enter the world as adult if they have lived in a secluded box in their childhood.

The use of the term "camp" does properly refer to the fact that they have outings. The "school" it self is fenced the "students" are monitored 24/7. The school belongs to the same chain of school, who had schools closed down in Mexico, the Czech republic and Costa Rica. Security is close to supermax standards.

I also guess that he could have chosen to leave in a normal way because he is 19, but the school operate with an "exit"-plan policy where the families are recommend to support graduation or confront the child with a referral to a shelter without support from the family if they choose to leave the school once they are adults.

It is a sad story regardless of the positive outcome.
By texexnv

9/16/09 at 7:30 a.m.

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Take a guess where the "Principal" of Casa by the Sea now is.

If you guessed Lake Tahoe you were right http://www.recordcourier.com/apps/pbcs.d...