NC SAR

[SHANEA]

Issue all boyscouts a SAR.

Scout missing in rugged N.C. forest  McGRADY, N.C. — Warmer weather raised rescuers' hopes Monday as they searched for a third day for a 12-year-old Boy Scout who disappeared while camping with his troop in the rugged mountains of western North Carolina.

Michael Auberry vanished in the heavily wooded terrain after lunch Saturday with the other Scouts and troop leaders. Searchers found his mess kit late Saturday within a mile of the camp site, but no other sign of him, authorities said.

"We're still confident in calling it a search-and-rescue operation," National Park Service spokeswoman Tina White said.

The boy's father, Kent Auberry, told the News & Record of Greensboro: "Any sign that he's still out there, that he's still fighting, we're clinging to."

Temperatures fell to the 20s before dawn Monday, but sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s prevailed during the day. Overnight weather was expected to be milder, with lows in the 40s, but there was a chance of rain Tuesday.

"The temperatures definitely play a factor. It has been very cold at night, but this young man was very well dressed. He had a fleece jacket on and another jacket," White said. "We've had people who have been out a week or longer and survived."

About 70 people aided by dogs and a helicopter searched the area's logging roads and trails and scoured off-road regions.

During the night, searchers planned to fly a plane with heat-sensing equipment and have dog teams out, among other efforts, she said. Searchers planned to stick to the trails at night to avoid losing anyone else.

The FBI was among the agencies on the scene, "but we still do not have any indication of foul play or that this young man has been abducted," White said.

The boy's mother, Debbie Hayes, told the Winston-Salem Journal that Michael had only potato chips to eat and no water. She also said he takes Ritalin to control attention-deficit disorder.

Park rangers worked with the boy's family to learn about Michael's wilderness skills and how he might react to the situation, White said.

Wild animals probably wouldn't threaten the boy, rangers said.

"Most likely, he won't see anymore wildlife than turkeys or groundhogs or squirrels," White said. "Our main concern would be if the weather changed and we got rain."

A missing persons alert notifying area law enforcement had also been issued as a precaution in case the boy had left the area being searched, White said, noting it was possible the boy could make it to a nearby road.

Few hikers are on the trails this time of year, she said.

The boy had stayed behind with an adult leader Saturday morning while the rest of the troop went for a hike "because apparently he wanted to sleep in," said David Bauer, a ranger with the Blue Ridge Parkway. Michael was there when the troop returned for lunch, but the group of about 10 Scouts and their three adult leaders soon noticed he was missing, Bauer said.

Authorities said the boy probably wandered into the woods to explore.

"We're hopeful he was able to find shelter. There are a number of rock crevasses, and he could have covered himself up with leaves," said Mike Lambert, a ranger with North Carolina State Parks.

Michael, a Scout for about a year, likes camping but doesn't like the cold, his father, Kent Auberry of Greensboro, told the Winston-Salem Journal.

Bauer said he was not aware of Michael having any arguments or problems with the troop members or his family.

John Meeks, Scout executive of the Greensboro-based Old North State Council, said the troops' leaders were highly qualified.

Leaders of other troops drove to the site Monday and offered to help, but authorities asked them to wait because they're not trained in search and rescue.

A prayer service was held Sunday night at the family's church in Greensboro, said congregation member David Millsaps.

"They're the kind of folks you always see in the halls at church, helping with the kids and youth worship. They are people who care," Millsaps said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4644967.html

[BigBendHiker]

Your heart goes out to the family.  They have got to be beyond frantic at this point.   :(


BBH

[SHANEA]

Ranger: We have our missing Boy Scout By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
2 minutes ago
 


McGRADY, N.C. - Park rangers escorted a weak and dehydrated 12-year-old Boy Scout out of the rugged North Carolina mountains on Tuesday, four days after he wandered away from his troop's camp site.

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Michael Auberry was brought the final distance by SUV, then carried into a ranger station, where a medical team and his parents met him.

"We have our missing Boy Scout," said a jubilant National Park Service spokeswoman Tina White.

White said she didn't have exact details about where or how Michael was found, but officials first received word shortly before 11 a.m. that he was spotted within a mile and a half of the camp site.

"Probably the most important thing we heard on the radio is A-1, which means he is in good condition," she said.

The radio communication from the search team that found Michael set off a celebration among leaders of several Scout troops waiting for news about the boy. "A lot of tears, a lot of hugs," White said, and members of Michael's church joined hands to pray at the staging area.

"This shows that when everybody works together, good things happen," said associate minister Susan Norman Vickers of Christ United Methodist Church. "We just believed that he was going to be found."

Earlier, the boy's father talked about his confidence in the rescue teams searching for his son in the damp, cool wilderness.

"What we got here is our son, who's lost, lost somewhere out there, and we don't know where he is," Kent Auberry said. "We've got great professionals looking for him. We're just waiting for the news."

Dog teams, about 70 people and a plane with heat-sensing equipment had been searching the rugged area around the camp site. Overnight temperatures were in the upper 30s to low 40s on Tuesday, milder than on Sunday night, when temperatures dropped into the 20s.

Michael vanished after lunch with his fellow Scouts and troop leaders on Saturday. His father said the adults and the other boys on the trip told him Michael had slept late but nothing appeared to have been wrong.

"He was in good spirits," Auberry said. "He ate lunch, chatting with the boys. He was walking around with I think some Pringles and a mess kit. The next moment, sounds like a blink of the eye, he was gone."

Authorities said the boy probably wandered into the woods to explore.

Searchers found Michael's mess kit a few hours after he disappeared and within a mile of the camp site. White said they had also found a candy wrapper and a potato chip bag.

While the weather has been chilly, White said Michael was wearing two jackets, one of them fleece.

As a Scout, Michael had had some wilderness training. His father also talked about one of Michael's favorite books when he was younger, a story about a boy whose plane crashes in the wilderness, and how the boy survives on his own.

"I think he's got some of that book in his mind," Auberry said. "They do a great job in the Scouts of educating the kids of what to beware of and tips. I'm hopeful that Michael has taken those to heart."

[Hayduke]

It turns out (from subsequent reports) that the kid's plan was to hitchhike home.

An independent-minded (yet stupid) hiker is one of a leader's worst nightmares. I don't fault the leadership here - the only way to get a handle on people like this is to tie them up!

I once had this happen to me with an adult who thought she knew a better way back to camp but failed to tell anyone. She didn't, and the resulting SAR was a big embarassment to her (as it should be).