Minnesota Boy Scout dies while hiking in New Mexico

A 14-year-old Boy Scout from Edina has died on a hiking trip at a Scout camp in New Mexico.

Timothy Nunn collapsed at the Philmont Scout Ranch on Friday.

Kent York, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts Northern Star Council in Minnesota, said Nunn was one of about 30 scouts from his troop at the ranch last week. He was hiking with some of them when he collapsed; efforts by his fellow scouts and emergency medical personnel couldn't revive him.

"Timmy loved Boy Scouts," said his father, Jim Nunn, in a statement. "All preliminary indications are that there is nothing anyone could have done, whether he would have been at home or out on a hike, to save him. God blessed us as parents to have given us Timmy, and God blessed Timmy to have given him Boy Scouts and the opportunity to go to Philmont. He loved Boy Scouts, baseball and his family, and he died doing something he loved."

Nunn's group had a variety of activities planned for their excursion, including mountain biking, rock climbing, and attending a living history camp, said Steve Nelson, spokesman for Philmont Scout Ranch. This was Nunn's first trip to the ranch.

The ranch provided chaplains to provide counseling for the Minnesota scouts. Nunn's family arrived on Friday night to meet with ranch officials and campers before returning to Minnesota.

"The mood here at Philmont is one of somber," Nelson said. "I think most are dealing with it very well. They're moving forward. Their spirits are that 'we want to do this for Tim.'"

Nelson said Nunn's fellow scouts planned to complete the trip in honor of their friend.

"Everybody's trying to pull together," York said. "This loss is felt just hugely. Timmy was a great kid and was involved in many things even outside of scouting. The troop itself, the parents have already met to talk about what they can do to support the family and the troop as they go through these very, very difficult days."

Nunn was a student at South View Middle School in Edina, where he had planned to enter ninth grade in the fall.

The ranch has been in operation for 71 years. It's the largest camp owned by the Boy Scouts of America -- 200 square miles -- and hosts about 300 Minnesota Boy Scouts every year. Most groups who attend Philmont hike one of its many trails.

"They pick what they call individual treks. So they can select among a wide variety of programs along the way, everything from panning for gold to rappelling, rock climbing, black powder musketry, horseback rides, burro trekking," York said. "It's a highlight of many scouts' entire scout experience."

The camp is about 85 miles northeast of Sante Fe. Temperatures in the area were in the low 80s on Friday.

Services will be held in early August, after the scouts have returned from New Mexico. The Edina Baseball Association, where Nunn played baseball and his father served as a coach, has set up an online memorial fund to assist the family.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Timothy Nunn's hometown, and the school he attended. This version is correct.

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