Investigations

Ben Schneider reentered closed Provo Canyon School and filmed staff

Staff said the campus was permanently closed but told him they knew who he was.

In Provo, Utah, Ben Schneider returned to Provo Canyon School on the night of Sept. 29 and again the next morning, climbing the mesh fence he had used to escape as a student and entering through a roof hatch. He posted the footage on Oct. 14, 2026.

Utah officials revoked the residential license for the Provo campus in July and ordered all services to stop by Aug. 16, after abuse lawsuits and years of campaigning by Paris Hilton. Schneider had checked himself into the for-profit teen program earlier that summer while a hidden camera ran on a new hire in the mental health technician pool.

The campus sign that once read Provo Canyon School was blank when he arrived after dark. Exterior lights stayed on, cars sat in the lot, and a posted notice warned of 24-hour video surveillance. Schneider scaled a basketball hoop, jumped about 15 feet over the mesh barrier, and walked the grounds where broken windows and boarded doors mixed with furnished offices and an empty pool.

From the roof he opened an access door and walked hallways that still held computers and classroom furniture. He pointed out the seclusion room where staff had held him for 30 hours and doors bolted into the pavement so locks could not be picked. He called Sheldon, the mental health technician who had worn a camera during the earlier infiltration, and showed him the empty building over the phone.

A vehicle left as he filmed, and workers locked the gate behind it. He came back early the next day, found the gate open, and walked to the front lobby, which was locked.

When staff appeared, Schneider said he had been a student who ran away months earlier and wanted to turn himself in. One worker said the school was permanently closed. Others said they worked for a sister facility but used the building, and that the program was not open for services. A staff member said every item from student inventory had gone back to the address on each admission form, then added, "We know exactly who you are, so we'd appreciate it if you'd stop."

Another employee walked behind Schneider and his companion for roughly a quarter mile along the campus exit road before they reached the public street.

Source video: Sneaking Back into Provo Canyon School