Posted on 10/17/2003 1:25:54 PM PDT by wheelgunguru
LINCOLN, N.H. - A 10-year-old boy who disappeared in the New Hampshire woods was found dead Friday, four days after he apparently made a wrong turn in the dense forest and became separated from his family.
"He has been found. Unfortunately, he is not alive," Sgt. Bruce Bonenfant of the Fish and Game Department said.
The body of the Bourne, Mass., boy was found about 2 1/4 miles from where he was last seen playing Monday in New Hampshire's scenic White Mountains.
Searchers had been looking night and day for the boy. The number of searchers swelled to 500 or more at times, and they used helicopters, dogs, night-vision equipment and even kayaks on a river that runs through the mountains.
Patric celebrated his birthday Sunday at the family condo and was at a playground with his stepbrothers before he disappeared. The family was getting ready to leave and the boys' father told them to check back every 15 minutes.
Patric challenged his stepbrothers to a race back to the condo, but he never arrived. Authorities believe he tried a shortcut and got lost.
Police said they did not suspect foul play.
At a morning briefing, Fish and Game Capt. Marty Garabedian said searchers have been told that Patric could be in bad shape.
"Obviously, we're very concerned about his survivability, hypothermia," Garabedian said. "All the searchers have been told he may not be standing or walking; he may be lying down."
Steve Dupuis, a mountaineer and climbing guide, said the boy's condition probably hinged on whether he found shelter early in his ordeal or stayed exposed to drenching rain Tuesday, high wind Wednesday and temperatures that have dipped as low as the 30s at night.
If he was out in the elements, "his chances of succumbing to exposure are pretty good because it's just impossible to keep warm without the right stuff," he said.
Police have also searched many of the roughly 500 condos in the area, looking in crawl spaces, under beds and in closets. New Hampshire first lady Denise Benson joined the hundreds of volunteers at the scene Friday morning.
"All the searchers have been told he may not be standing or walking; he may be lying down."
Kinda of a stupid quote to put in an article after hes been found dead.
Poor kid. I wandered around the woods quite a bit when I was 10. Of course, in New Jersey, you cant walk too far in the woods without hitting a road.
The fact that he was found only two miles away is heartbreaking.
This little guy was a cubscout and did know some survival skills and that gave hope he would survive and know how to keep warm.
From FNC:
LINCOLN, N.H. A 10-year-old Massachusetts boy who disappeared in the woods Monday was found dead Friday afternoon, authorities said.
"He has been found. Unfortunately, he is not alive," Sgt. Bruce Bonenfant of the Fish and Game Department said of Patric McCarthy (search).
Patric was found about 2 1/4 miles from where he was last seen.
Searchers had been looking night and day for the boy, from Bourne, Mass. The search contingent swelled to 500 or more at times and used helicopters, dogs, night-vision equipment and even kayaks on the Pemigewasett River (search).
Patric, who celebrated his birthday Sunday at the family condo, was last seen playing with his stepbrothers Monday afternoon about 300 yards away in a playground. The family was getting ready to leave and the boys' father, Steve McCarthy, told them to check back every 15 minutes.
Patric challenged his stepbrothers to a race back to the condo, but he never arrived. Authorities believe he tried a shortcut and made a wrong turn into the dense forest.
Police consistently said they did not suspect foul play, and Will Delker, head of the criminal division of the attorney general's office, said Friday his office was not involved. The office handles all homicides.
Monday was warm, but the area received drenching rain Tuesday and strong winds Wednesday, and temperatures dipped into the 40s and 30s at night.
Search officials and experienced mountaineers warned earlier that Patric could die of exposure. On Thursday, climbing guide and experienced rescuer Steve Dupuis said if Patric was out in the elements, "his chances of succumbing to exposure are pretty good because it's just impossible to keep warm without the right stuff."
Dupuis is a guide with the International Mountain Climbing School (search) in North Conway.
Tony Castagna of Hubbardston, Mass., was among the many volunteer searchers disappointed by the news.
"We thought we were going to find him, especially today. It was a beautiful day. We were just kidding ourselves, I guess," Castagna said.
The condo is in a large development across the Kancamagus Highway from the Loon Mountain ski area. Many were puzzled that anyone could get lost there, but Dupuis said once someone was in the woods, it would be easy to get disoriented and not know the way out.
The McCarthys, married about three years, own the Gray Gables Country Market in Bourne, at the foot of Cape Cod, and are well-known in town. McCarthy bought the market after selling a string of Cape Cod Dunkin' Donuts shops.
New Hampshire first lady Denise Benson joined the hundreds of volunteers at the scene Friday morning
I'm concerned for he was with stepbrother's. What was that relationship like?
Years ago, one of our local TV stations stuck a mike in the face of a father seconds after he pulled his dead son out of a clothes dryer and asked, "how do you FEEEEL?" The dad punched him so hard the guy was unconscious for about five minutes.
I cheered for the dad. And the dad was never charged with a crime by the DA.
What really happened to him? Did he just wander off? I can't imagine that he could become so lost within about 15 minutes.
A parent has to become a one-person security force. My daughter's 20 and I make her call me on her way to places and on her way home from places. She says the cell phone is an electronic collar, but I don't care. She may feel that she's capable of taking care of herself, but there are always the loonies out there who defy all convention.
No kidding. I wish we had had cell phones when I was raising my kids. GPS tracking devices would have been great, too.
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