Missing Scout Meets The Press

Joyful Parents Of Rescued Scout Say He Is Doing Fine

(CBS/AP) 
"I turned a corner and there was a kid standing in the middle of the trail. He was all muddy and wet," from walking over wet ground, said Nunley, who dialed 911 on his cell phone and said he was lucky to find a signal.

The boy had seen some volunteer searchers on horseback but avoided them because he was scared, Nunley said. "He was a little delirious. I sat him down and gave him a little food."

His mother said Wednesday he told his parents he was afraid of the strangers, because "I didn't want someone to steal me."

The two searches on horseback, Corey Harris and Tony Garrett told CBS News' The Early Show that they rode right past Brennan a short time before he was found. They then turned back when they thought they were going the wrong way and were soon on the scene with Brennan and Nunley.

"He was very frail at the time," Garrett said. "We found out that he was very wet. So at that time we all went into our bags to find as much as we could to get his clothing changed on him and get him warmed back up and covered up."

Brennan's uncle, Bob Hawkins, described seeing his nephew again to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

"He's doing extremely well," Hawkins said. "I visited with them in the hospital last night and left them about 10:00. At that time, we had talked with Brennan and kind of joked around with him, made sure he knew how we felt."

"I was numb for probably the first ten minutes," Sheriff Dave Edmunds said on The Early Show. "I could not believe that we had found him. I knew that the rain was coming in. So there was a sense of urgency. It was just unbelievable."

The youngster from the Salt Lake City suburb of Bountiful was found on a 9,400-foot pass above Lily Lake, a summer-only campground in the Uinta range. He was quickly reunited with his parents and their four other children.

In Bountiful, an impromptu celebration was held Tuesday on the Hawkins' front lawn.

"This is a miracle. This is how it should happen," neighbor Kristie Swain said. She and her husband, Mark, spent Sunday and Monday helping search for Brennan.

"It shows that you don't give up. You just cannot give up," she said.

Neighbors and schoolchildren tied celebratory yellow ribbons to every part of the Hawkins' yard, the family's boat, and trees surrounding the home. Others honked car horns or held up signs heralding Brennan's safe return.

The enormous search had included thousands of volunteers, platoons of all-terrain vehicles, horses and helicopters, including some equipped with infrared devices.

"Words cannot express the appreciation that we feel for all that have done so much," read a message on the family's Web site. "He was worth everyone's efforts and everyone's prayers — you will always be in our prayers."

"We don't know how to express our love and appreciation for everything that was taken care of," Bob Hawkins added. "Somehow we're going just get the word out. How do you say thanks so many times?"