Investigators Probing Arizona 'Sweat Lodge' Deaths
Kirby Brown's family said she was in perfect health before the Arizona retreat.
Oct. 12, 2009— -- Investigators say it could be weeks before they determine if criminal charges will be filed in the deaths of two people who participated in a 120-degree, makeshift "sweat hut" that turned into a death trap.
The cousin of 38-year-old Kirby Brown, who died Thursday at the Sedona, Ariz., retreat, said they still know little about what happened inside the 400-square-foot tent where more than 60 people huddled around steaming fire-heated rocks hoping to cleanse their bodies.
"We don't know what happened inside that tent," Tom McFeeley told "Good Morning America" today. "We need to get those answers."
Brown and James Shore, 40, who also died, were among several guests who each paid nearly $10,000 to spend the week with James Ray, a frequent guest on "Oprah" who helped write the best-selling documentary and book, "The Secret."
But two hours into the ritual, people started collapsing and a woman called 911.
"One isn't breathing and one person is burned," the woman told the 911 dispatcher.
In addition to the deaths of Brown and Shore, a resident of Milwaukee, 19 others were injured.
Brown, a surfer and hiker, was in excellent health, according to her family.
"She was the picture of perfect health," McFeeley said. "Nobody could keep up with her physically or in any other way. She was just that type of person."
Brown had been to other retreats hosted by Ray, even bringing her parents, but none of them involved a physical component to his teachings, McFeeley said.
"We have not heard from Mr. Ray or anyone in his organization," he said. "It does surprise us, based on the type of man we thought he was."
But McFeeley was quick to point out that the Brown family does not have any ill will toward Ray, saying it's dangerous to make assumptions when they still have so many unanswered questions.
"For us to even have anger or any such emotion is pointless at this point," he said. "There will be plenty of time to react to the truth."
Funeral services, he said, are scheduled for the weekend.
