Autopsy: Girl, 12, fell farther than initially reported in zip-line death

CHARLOTTE, NC (Charlotte Observer) — Twelve-year-old Bonnie Sanders Burney fell 43 feet in a fatal zip-lining accident in western N.C. in June, more than twice the distance first reported by camp officials, a newly released autopsy shows.

Sanders, of Wilmington died June 11 at Camp Cheerio, a YMCA camp in Alleghany County, near the Virginia border. Her zip-line became tangled in the harness and broke, the autopsy says. Camp officials have said the rope may have melted when it came in contact with another rope.

“The girl appeared to become tangled in her apparatus and the rope between the zip-line and her harness broke,” the autopsy says.