CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : MAMMOTH LAKES : Charges Ruled Out in Lake Drownings

No criminal charges will be filed in the deaths of three boys and four would-be rescuers who drowned in ice-covered Convict Lake in February, Mono County Dist. Atty. Stan Eller said. A sheriff’s investigation failed to find enough evidence to support charges against staff at Camp O’Neal, a group home for troubled boys, in the Feb. 19 drownings, the prosecutor said. “After review of the reports compiled by your department, I will not be filing any criminal charges regarding this tragedy. I feel that there is insufficient evidence to establish criminal liability beyond a reasonable doubt as it relates to the action of individuals at Camp O’Neal,” Eller said in a memo to Sheriff Martin Strelneck. State investigators blamed the drownings on a “lack of appropriate care and supervision” by the staff, and closed the camp. A hearing on the camp’s appeal of the decision is set for Aug. 27.