Hiking Trip Ended in Rescue, School Claims It Was Blown ‘Out of Proportion’ – ryan

National Parks Service officials and an Arizona school had different things to say about a recent hiking trip that ended in a rescue.

The incident occurred on Thursday, April 10, according to a Facebook post from the Lake Mead National Park Service as well as a letter to parents from an administrator at The Marvelous Microschool in Kingman.

In a social media post about their decision to temporarily close hiking trails in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area due to the 100-degree-plus heat, park officials said that a group of 28 hikers, consisting of “three adults and 25 children with special needs” were rescued after attempting to reach Arizona Hot Springs “without adequate preparation.”

Additionally, park officials said that the previous day, a hiker died on the trail “in what is suspected to be a heat-related incident.”

But an official with the school pushed back on the details shared by the park service, according to Arizona’s Family.

In a letter sent to parents on Friday, April 11, and shared by the outlet, Dr. Catherine Normoyle claimed the “entire event” was blown “completely out of proportion.”

According to the administrator, the hiking party actually included 10 adults and 18 students, three of whom “are identified as ‘special needs’ per their education, but not outside of that.”

Speaking of their preparation, Normoyle wrote that each student was asked to bring a gallon of water and that adults also had “over 100 bottles of water to distribute to students who did not bring enough.” However, she did say it was a “mistake” to take students at their word and not make them “physically show” they had enough water.

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The school official, who did not share many details about the hike or weather conditions that day, went on to insist the group was “never lost on the trail” — which was not a claim made by park officials in the post — and that they were already on the way back and about two miles from the parking lot “when the first student began to feel ill.”

The official said that a student was later transported to the hospital, but they were quickly discharged and “100% fine.”

As for how park officials got involved, the official said a student was the one who called search and rescue. “Would I have liked to have been consulted first? Yes,” Normoyle wrote. “However, the students did what they thought was right. I applaud them for that.”

Normoyle acknowledged that they didn’t have a permit, something she claims to have been unaware of needing, and that they did get two citations from park rangers.

“We will be paying the fines and using it as a learning lesson,” Normoyle said in the letter.

Normoyle told Arizona’s Family that she did plan on sharing her account with park rangers, but that ultimately she just wanted “the public to move on.”

PEOPLE contacted the Lake Mead National Park Service and school officials for additional comment on Wednesday, April 16.