Updates

Guardians and Girls

Adrian, the girl who pulled 75 stumps in two days, stayed on the Island until it closed. She works as an IV nurse at a hospital in California and struggles with relationships. She is still a member of the church.

Alex, the girl who moved the mountain, stayed on the Island until it closed, what happened to her after that is unknown.

Alison, who arrived with Ericka as one of the voluntaries, spent 2 years on the Island and timed out as a level 6 girl. What happened to her after that is unknown.

Betty works as a manager at a retail establishment along with her husband. They have a son in college. (Guardian, Orange Team)

Brittany is married and is now a stay-at-home mom with 2 kids. (Guardian, Red Team)

Christi did 1 tour with the Navy, she now works in Iowa as a waitress. (Guardian, Green Team Sergeant)

Clementine, from Bunk 11, timed out as a Level 4 girl in Ericka's second year. What happened to her after that is unknown.

Debbie, one of the voluntaries that arrived with Ericka, spent 2 years on The Island. What happened to her after that is unknown.

Emma, the girl Purple team rescued from Bunk 22, went to college for art, she works in the art field making stained glass. She is still a member of the church.

Ericka made a career as an NCO in the Navy. She has now retired to Origon with her wife of over 15 years, where she completed her own book about her time on the Island of troubled teens and in her free time is traveling the world, visiting as many islands as she can. (Guardians Captain)

Gigi worked her way back up to Level 7. She left the Island with Ericka. She did 2 tours in the Navy before going to college. Gigi died in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver. She is survived by her husband and son.

Gretta, from Bunk 7, left with Ericka to join the Navy. She did one tour and went on to work in electronics. She is still a member of the church.

Jenna, who shared a room with Jess in Mr. S’s house, now works as an Uber driver.

Jennifer did 1 tour with the Navy. She is now working in retail and has struggled with drug addiction. (Guardian, Green Team)

Jess left the Island shortly after Vanessa. She and Vanessa have now reconnected. They live only a few miles apart and spend as much time together as they can. It’s good to see the littles reunited, after all, how often do long-lost sisters find each other again?

Julie stayed on the Island until it closed. She committed suicide 2 years after getting home. (Guardian, Purple Team)

Kat is struggling with drug addiction. She is homeless on the streets of LA. Jess and Vanessa are trying to get her into rehab. If anyone can, it’s those two. (Guardian, Blue Team)

Kate, the Guardian that got to go home early, did one tour in the Navy. She works for a defense contractor, has 2 teenagers, 1 of whom went through 9 months in a Wilderness TTI program.

Laura graduated from college, and now teaches Phys Ed and coaches a girls track team. She is still a member of the church. That girl can still run, she regularly runs marathons for the Church. (Guardian, Orange Team)

Lori, who arrived with Ericka as a voluntary, left the Island with Ericka. She did one tour with the Navy and currently works in billing at a radio station. She is still a member of the church.

Lucy, from bunk 11, timed out Ericka's second year. What happened to her after that is unknown.

Marci, Jenna’s older sister, died on the Island. Her cause of death is unknown. (Guardian, Orange Team)

Maxine stayed on the Island until it closed. She has spent her life in and out of psychiatric institutions and until recently, was living on the streets of New York City. She is now living in an apartment in Ericka's house, has a part-time job and is being treated for her psyciatric condition. (Guardian, Purple Team)

Meghan works in the adult entertainment field and is doing quite well for herself writing and producing spicy content. (Guardian, Blue Team)

Mia, who arrived with Ericka as a voluntary, timed out after 18 months. What happened to her after that is unknown.

Michelle did 2 tours in the Navy and got her degree. She now works in mechanical engineering. (Guardian, Blue Team Sergeant)

Molly, aka superman, was eventually sent to a long-term hospital placement to be treated for her seizures. She is now seizure free and works managing rental properties. She is still in touch with Brother Joe.

Nancy did 1 tour with the Navy, she currently works for a pest control company in Oklahoma. She is still a member of the church. (Guardian, Red Team)

Nikki, the girl the Guardians broke, is currently serving 25-life in prison. All of the Guardians feel bad about the part they played. Since reconecting, Ericka and the other Guardians now write and talk on the phone with her regularly. Ericka has even been able to do video visits with her.

Paula is currently serving life in prison. She and Ericka talk every week. (Guardian, Red Team)

Rachel, the girl who moved the big pile of bricks in two days while on a starvation diet, now works in retail in Utah.

Rory “Bad News from Bunk 22” is currently serving 15 years in prison. She has 3 teenage daughters in foster care. V and Jess made sure they got a good Christmas last year, and now all of the Guardians make sure they get good Christmases and birthdays and other support every year. One of the Guardians, Susan and her husband, are in the process of trying to become the legal Guardian of her two youngest daughters and get them out of the foster care system.

Sarah received a Dishonorable discharge for violating Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. She is recovering from drug addiction and with Jess’ help, is now in a stable living and working situation. (Guardian, Green Team)

Sasha was Honorably discharged from the Navy. She died of a drug overdose. (Guardian, Green Team)

Susan is married with 2 children. She works in IT in Seattle. (Guardian, Blue Team)

Shawn served as an NCO in the Navy. She died of complications from Meningitis just shy of completing her 20 years. (Guardian, Orange Team Sergeant)

Tonya received an Honorable discharge from the Navy. She is a single mother with three kids. She supports her family with an OnlyFans site, but is now working with Meghan behind the camera. (Guardian, Purple Team Sergeant)

Tori received an Honorable discharge from the Navy. She struggled with drug addiction and committed suicide at age 26. (Guardian, Blue Team)

Vanessa, ever the princess, dramatically escaped the Island with the help of Brother Sam and Sergeant Richards. She went to college and grad school, then worked for a while as an officer in the Naval Reserves. Vanessa has made her career as a computer programmer. She has a husband of over 25 years and two daughters in college. She and Jess have reconnected and are as close as any two sisters could ever be. (Guardian, Purple Team)

Staff

Brother Sam left the Island with Vanessa a few months after the Great Resignation, fulfilling his promise to Mr. S of helping her escape. He worked for a construction company until he died of natural causes.

Brother Mark was 23 when he completed his 4-year Missionary assignment and left the Island. He worked in one other TTI program where he met his wife. They now own a ranch in Texas where they live with their 3 children. He is no longer part of the church and does not work in the TTI. Recently, he has advocated against the TTI.

Sister Ava and Brother Tom are still married and still members of the church. They live in Rhode Island with 3 teenage children, where they both work in manufacturing.

Sister Jean is still a counselor with the Church. She still works with teenage girls.

Brother Joe, the maintenance guy who took Molly under his wing, left the Island as part of the Great Resignation. He lives in California with his wife, two daughters and his little sister, who has Downs Syndrome and epilepsy. He and Molly are still in contact with each other, and he is still a member of the church.

Sister Beth, Mr. S's older sister, was a fixture in the lives of Vanessa and her children. She died in 2023 from natural causes.

Sister Kara, who herself graduated the program as a Level 10 girl when she was 16, then went back as a Missionary at age 19, left the Island at age 26 as part of the Great Resignation. She married and had a daughter. They live in Minnesota. She now manages her family’s portfolio of properties, including the building in Iowa Christi works in. She is still a member of the church.

Sister Lisa left the Island as part of the Great Resignation. She and Ericka still get together regularly. Lisa is still a member of the church, but no longer works for the church, she now works in a law firm.

Sister Mary left the Island as part of the Great Resignation. She now owns a small restaurant in Delaware with her sister, where she employes several former girls from the Island. She has a daughter that spent time in a TTI program and she is still a member of the church.

Sister Nancy left the Island as part of the Great Resignation and worked for a while as a therapist in a residential treatment center. We do not know what happened to her after that.

Sister Paula and Brother Tim left the Island as part of the Great Resignation. They are still married and still members of the church. They live in Michigan, where Tim works in a car dealership and Paula is a stay-at-home mom.

Mrs Bennet led the charge to shut the Island down and ultimately succeeded, though she paid a heavy price for that win. She remained in an executive position in the Church until well past the age she should have retired. Mrs. Bennet died of natural causes in 2014. Both Ericka and Sister Lisa were with her when she died.

Miss Rawlings married and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Until very recently, she still worked for the church part-time in its educational mission. Her specialty was fundraising. Miss Rawlings health has recently had a major down-turn. She is now in a nursing home run by the church and suffers from dimentia and organ failure.

Sister Sadie works as a middle school teacher in the Tri-State area. A hallmark of her classroom is teaching middle schoolers to be humans and to advocate for each other, something she credits to her time as a Guardian. She is still a member of the Church.

Father Fred and Sister Denise are still happily married and live on the West Coast, where they raised 3 children and still run a small congregation of a different Christian church. They even hosted our reunion and administer the fund we set up to help support those of us that went to the Island. Most of the authors royalties from the sale of both Ericka and Vanessa’s book goes to that fund.

Sergeant Davis recently retired from a private defense contracting firm. He still takes in foster teens and plans to do so until the day he dies.

Sergeant Duplessie retired to upstate New York, where he tinkers with old cars and tractors.

Sergeant James taught at a college in Asia until he passed away from natural causes. He is survived by his third wife and a son from his first marriage.

Sergeant Mackey reconnected with his own daughter after leaving the Island. He now lives with her and his two grandchildren and a soon-to-be first great-grandchild.

Sergeant Mitchel works for a defense contractor and does volunteer work with teenagers through the Boy Scouts of America's Exploring program.

Sergeant Richards has retired for a second time and lives a mile from Vanessa. He enjoys fishing and spending time with his two Grand Nieces, Vanessa’s daughters.