Missing Boy Scout Found Alive

Rescue Dog Led Searchers To Boy Stranded 3 Days In N.C. Mountains

(CBS/AP)  A rescue dog led searchers Tuesday to a 12-year-old Boy Scout who was weak and dehydrated but alive in the rugged North Carolina mountains, about a mile from the camp he had wandered away from four days earlier.

Michael Auberry was found on the side of a ridge, just half a mile north of the original campsite where he walked away on Saturday, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

"He was a little disoriented, but he was great," said Misha Marshall, the South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association volunteer whose dog, Gandalf, found Michael Auberry on a wooded ridge.

"He just said, 'I'm hungry,"' Marshall said. And he wanted some water.

Michael was so tired that once he was rescued he slept on a canvass stretcher for nearly 45 minutes as rescuers carried him down the mountain, adds Strassmann.

"There are a lot of smiling people standing around me here at the command post, and a lot of rescuers and folks who are very pleased to hear this news," National Park Service spokeswoman Tina White told CBS News' Karyn Regal a few minutes later. "We were focusing more heavily on the 35 different segments of the area where we thought he had the highest probability of being, and maybe that's what paid off."

Joe Ware, Assistant Fire Chief in McGrady, said the boy told the rescue team that picked him up and Marshall up on a nearby road that he had been drinking some water out of the streams in the area.

"He was calm," though a bit disoriented as he talked to the rescuers, Ware said. "He wanted peanut butter crackers and water."

Ware said he checked him for injuries, then he and the other rescuers carried the boy into a ranger station, where a medical team and his parents met him. He was later taken by ambulance to a hospital.

The radio communication from the search team that found the boy 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," Kent 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."

[petesis]

If this kid is capable of wandering off and getting lost for over three days within one mile of where he started, then I am sorry, he is too stupid to be let on these camping trips without a protective leash or some other device to keep an eye on him. I suspect it is something less innocent than mere stupidity that is at work here. This kid was hiding. It will come out.

[dwcleveland]

**geez...i would've never even thought about an 'underlying issue' that may have been reason to cause this scout to roam and possibly become a little lost on purpose and then really lost...but, when i do think about some of those possibilities it sends serious wake up calls and would make alot of sense. it does make sense to run away from and hide from danger or a dangerous person or situation...whew...these people have their work cut out for them...this scout may have done the very best thing to save his life...i hope not and what's worse is...none of us will probably never even know...there will be a tight lid on it and may never even ever meet the news element...i took a 6 year old boy to chuckecheese a couple of days ago and there were hundreds of kids running everywhere...then it occurred to me later that this could be a terrible place to be and a high risk for predators...i really do not know anything anymore...just don't know and don't want to know...this world really sometimes seems to get worse the older i get...let me dance in a meadow of wild flowers on a pretty sunny day with a fun hat on and live the life i dream of...a safe one first so that it can be a happy one. is that too much for anyone to wish for...????? i'll do my part to make sure it will be safe for anyone around me..."There is no way to PEACE...PEACE is the way." I WILL DO MY PART TO HELP HEALTHY DREAMS TO REALLY COME TRUE.

[harp1963]

It's so nice that this story had a happy ending.

[agnim]

"This is why I never let my boys(or girl) join any group that I could not be there every minute.They called me OVERPROTECTIVE but I didn't care!! I knew where they were and what they were doing! You just can not be to careful.
Posted by dog-x8 at 11:36 PM : Mar 20, 2007"

"Overprotective" is BEST!
Let the others under protect their children if they wish, you had the right attitude.

Safety first.
Children should NEVER be left alone.
And these days, even some parents are a danger to the children.

[dog-x8]

toldyouso21 you are right on with everything you have posted!!(ok, I had to look up a few words you used. lol) Anyway, the first thing that ran through my mind when I heard it on our local news was "why was a young boy left by himself with a grown man, and what or who was the boy running from." I hope this is NOT the case but why would any man put himself in that position? Why did the other scout leader agree?? We would have all gone on the hike or all stayed at the campsite and roasted marshmellows. This is why I never let my boys(or girl) join any group that I could not be there every minute.They called me OVERPROTECTIVE but I didn't care!! I knew where they were and what they were doing! You just can not be to careful. They did not understand when they were younger, but now they are grown and have children of their own they understand.They tell me thank you for loveing us enough to say NO. P.S. Their children call them OVERPROTECTIVE now!!! lol I'm just sooooo glad he is home safe tonight!! Just goes to prove--- PRAYER WORKS!!!!!!!!!

[jeannec3]

Petesis
I hope you never are around a mental challenged child.

[jeannec3]

Petesis
The child has some mental deficiencies but they aren't so bad that he can't learn. He just learns slower then others. That was reported in the news. That's most likely why he didn't think to turn around to go back to camp. They said he got homesick for his Dad and thought he could just go find him.

ToolIMangler
I don't see where in my comments that I said that people should be 'Implanted with RFID '. What I said was they could wear ' Braclets ' and I'm sure those can be taken off when a trip is over.

[randalds]

The kid wasn't happy on this outing and went to hitch hike a ride. I hope his parents are presented with a nice fat bill for the expense of hunting the little SOB down!

[jeannec3]

I don't see anywhere in my comment that says that you can just slap a traking braclet on a child and turn him loose. But I know how children can be beside you one moment and gone the next. Children are as quick as lightening when they are little. I had two almost 10 months apart. You can be bent down zippering a coat for one and the other can take off in a matter of a second. I was lucky my kids stuck like glue to me. But not all kids are like that. Some are runners. And it would be good to have those tracking braclets for when something like that happens when kids are out on camping trips and other outdoor trips. That doesn't mean that you can take your eyes of your kids and let them just take off.

[jeannec3]

I don't see anywhere in my comment that says that you can just slap a traking braclet on a child and turn him loose. But I know how children can be beside you one moment and gone the next. Children are as quick as lightening when they are little. I had two almost 10 months apart. You can be bent down zippering a coat for one and the other can take off in a matter of a second. I was lucky my kids stuck like glue to me. But not all kids are like that. Some are runners. And it would be good to have those tracking braclets for when something like that happens when kids are out on camping trips and other outdoor trips. That doesn't mean that you can take your eyes of your kids and let them just take off.

[toolmangler-2009]

Those who advocate a device for locating missing people should read The New testament book of revelations and Orwells "1984" then tell me if they think that is a good idea. Implantable RFID's already exist the only thing lacking is a law "REQUIRING EACH PERSON TO BE IMPLANTED WITH ONE". Scares the 'H' out of me folks

[agnim]

Posted by jeannec3 at 10:02 PM : Mar 20, 2007

Was thinking the same thing. Surprised we haven't had such a simple device as yet. We have them for birds and the like. LOL
Give them an ankle or wrist bracelet and turn them loose. LOL

[jeannec3]

I think that someone ought to invent some kind of tracking braclets for campers and hikers of all ages. And children should be made to wear them when out camping,fishing or anything like that whether they are in a group or family outing in the woods.

[agnim]

Posted by saransk at 03:59 PM : Mar 20, 2007

There you go!
The adults in charge were incompetents who must shoulder full responsibility for the scare.

[agnim]

"Kids are kids and they run off all the time. They are airheads.
Posted by bjbbc2004 at 03:17 PM : Mar 20, 2007"

That is why there shouldn't be 'air head' adults tending the children.

No child should be able to wonder off with no one noticing. They should have been buddied up twos and threes; no one make a step without the other one noticing and following close behind and objecting.

[toldyouso21]

One of the common denominators for parents of molested children: they NEVER (or claim they never) suspected--whoever did it to their child. Always, they claim to be shocked and outraged, but the fact is... most people do not entertain the idea the molesters are not just crazy strangers in rain coats. Often, they are your Pastor, or Sunday school teacher, a coach or scout leader, a big brother or an uncle or grandpa. In almost every case that does not involve strangers, the parent will have entrusted their child into the hands of their predator.

Ironic? Not really. Like most of the people on this board, victims and their parents do not accept or conceive of the banality of evil. That it is everyday and common--but molestation is often a crime of opportunity and for child molesters to be so successfulm they often depend on ordinary people refusing to speculate or entertain the ugly--that way, those same parents will offer their own childen up with loving, trusting, albeit naive hands.

[toldyouso21]

You've seen how little it takes for a social worker to start wild speculations - kid walks off & you may be a molester.... heck, just the fact that you WANT to work with kids is suspicion enough!

Posted by dogsoul at 04:59 PM : Mar 20, 2007

I have to agree that those who work closely with abuse do see and suspect it more and it does tend to make them more suspicious and cynical. I would also submit that the majority of people don't like to hear bad news or even entertain it--and by insisting it is unfair to debate a salient argument about this case--we paint it in even uglier colors than it probably is. No wonder kids are afraid to tell most of the time--those who do not want to know or want to protect the adult's (and by extension and extrapolation their own) reputations see even the speculation of what occurred as a threat. "THAT WHICH MUST NOT BE SAID"
As for the scout leader, he has nothing to fear, including beschmirching of his reputation. I sarted by saying what MAY have occurred--the word may is a qualifier, I have also contended it may not have. No facts are changed by reticence of debate. It MAY have occurred, it MAY not have--but due to the actions of both, and regardless of blog sentiment--there WILL be speculation and discretion will be used as they look into it. Adults can accept this, debate it and move on.

[toldyouso21]

I've known many social workers and have observed that they DO tend to see predators, molesters, & abusers everywhere - sort of like cops scrutinizing everyone as a crook... they're immersed in it & it colors everything & everyone with whom they interact

Posted by dogsoul at 04:59 PM : Mar 20, 2007


What the real kicker is, is that over time, social workers develope almost a 6th sense when stories have holes or something is just not kosher and though they may not be right 100% they come pretty close. At the end of the day, most social workers believe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--or that they would prefer to err on the side of the child.

As for speculation, it is the stuff which drives the engine of dicovery and for those who do not relish it or condemn it, keep your actions obove reproach and speculation will be at a minimum.

The scout adult did not follow protocol and scout mandates in staying alone with the child --FIRST RED FLAG

The boy did not follow protocol and scout mandates that each person be with a buddy at all times and NEVER wander off alone---SECOND RED FLAG

In the face of such anomalies--speculation will certainly exist--but trust me, there are probably very few people who would want the child to be proven to be molested--in fact, the police and social workers and everyone else will go in with fingers crossed, hoping for the all too rare Norman Rockwellian version of events--unfortunately, it often does not happen.

[toldyouso21]

Let's not forget, he was out there for 4 days, he could have easily wondered several miles out and wondered back towards camp.
Posted by Robjk1 at 06:36 PM : Mar 20, 2007


true--but please...he wandered, not "wondered" to wander is to travel aimlessly in any direction. to wonder is to think about something...to speculate. Like I wonder if that adult realized they were not following scout procedure when they stayed alone with the boy.

[robjk1-2009]

Let's not forget, he was out there for 4 days, he could have easily wondered several miles out and wondered back towards camp.