Alden Brock

Alden Ray Brock (August 31, 2001 - June 27, 2015)^[1] was an American Boy Scout who is known for his death at Philmont Scout Ranch. At age 13, Alden had drowned during an enormous flash flood that took place throughout Philmont, and was the only person in Philmont who died because of this flood.

Early life

Alden was born in 2001 in Rosemont, Sacramento County, California, a town next to the city of Sacramento, where he resided for the entirety of his life. As a Scout, Alden was a member of California's Troop 380, and had achieved the rank of Star Scout before his death. He attended and graduated from Albert Einstein Middle School in Rosemont, where he was the captain of a wrestling team.^[2] Alden was involved in soccer as well, and was described by many of his peers as a very happy and cheerful young boy.

Philmont Scout Ranch

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, mountainous youth camp meant specifically for Boy Scouts that is located in the Cimarron area of New Mexico. The area is very dry, but usually has a wet season that occurs around May and June. Although Philmont is definitely not known for flash floods, there have been flash floods in Philmont in the past, but some staff members report that Philmont has not seen such a dangerous flash flood as the one in 2015 since the 1965 flood.

Flooding

At the first few hours of the morning of June 27, heavy rains occurred almost all throughout Philmont, which caused the flash flood. Creeks, runways, and other bodies of water deepened at extreme levels all across the region, especially in the North Country region, causing campsites and trails to be flooded, some worse than others.

Alden Brock's entire crew experienced the flash flood while they were stationed in the campsite North Ponil Canyon, one of the most severely damaged locations in Philmont during the flood. His crew, consisting of 8 youth Scouts, 3 advisors (adult Scouts), and one of the rangers that was assisting the crew, were only at the beginning of their 12-day trek.^[3]

Death

According to authorities, Alden Brock and three of his fellow youth Scouts were swept away by the flood. The other three boys were rescued, but Alden wasn't rescued; he drowned and died in the flood.^[4] His body was found lying against a tree about a mile away from the location from which he was swept away.

After Alden's death

After Alden's death and after the flash flood, the rest of Alden's crew chose to continue their 12-day trek in his honor, "because that's what he would have wanted."

One youth Scout wrote to his mother from Philmont, stating:

"We’re safe mom, but our hearts are heavy. Even though we didn’t know the kid who died — he is our brother in scouting. We held a memorial for him on the trail and are praying for his family."

Though his death happened on June 27, it was not officially confirmed by the New Mexico State Police that he was dead until June 30.

Funeral

On Wednesday, July 8, 2015 (13 days after Alden's death), there was a funeral and memorial held at a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sacramento for Alden Brock. Around eight hundred people attended the memorial service, including multiple family members and friends of Alden, as well as multiple other Boy Scouts from various troops in the area, and from his own troop.

The pre-funeral memorial service was held at 9:00-10:30 AM that morning, which anyone could attend. The funeral itself started at 11:00 AM, and it was asked that only relatives of Alden Brock attend the burial service. His body was placed in the Sierra Hills Memorial Park in Greenback Lane that day.^[5]

References