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Missing 10-Year-Old Boy Found Dead
AP ^ | 10-17-03

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.


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1 posted on 10/17/2003 1:25:54 PM PDT by wheelgunguru
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To: wheelgunguru
Poor little guy.
2 posted on 10/17/2003 1:29:15 PM PDT by OldFriend (DEMS INHABIT A PARALLEL UNIVERSE)
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To: wheelgunguru
Sending prayers for the family.
3 posted on 10/17/2003 1:29:37 PM PDT by scourge
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To: wheelgunguru
They need to teach survival skills to people that live in rural areas.
4 posted on 10/17/2003 1:29:55 PM PDT by Sir Gawain (Stop acting like Richard Cranium)
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To: wheelgunguru
"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 he’s been found dead.

Poor kid. I wandered around the woods quite a bit when I was 10. Of course, in New Jersey, you can’t walk too far in the woods without hitting a road.

The fact that he was found only two miles away is heartbreaking.

5 posted on 10/17/2003 1:33:49 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: wheelgunguru
Yet it should be easy to find Saddam and Osama in hostile areas the size of Texas and Iowa, when they do not want to be found.
6 posted on 10/17/2003 1:35:53 PM PDT by Teacher317
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To: Sir Gawain
My daughter vacationed for the first time up there last summer. At one point, she set out on inline skates along the Kankamagus Hwy. and didn't see anyone for miles. She was loving it. All of a sudden, she passed a house and the occupant came out with a shotgun. She was alarmed, but apparently that's the way things are done up in the White Mountains. The guy was friendly, but the gun scared the wits out of her. This guy has all the survival skills he needs.
7 posted on 10/17/2003 1:36:13 PM PDT by stanz (Those who don't believe in evolution should go jump off the flat edge of the Earth.)
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To: dead
>>The fact that he was found only two miles away is heartbreaking.<<

I agree. Bless this family. I can't imagine what they are going through.


8 posted on 10/17/2003 1:41:52 PM PDT by netmilsmom ( Happy 6th Birthday to my big girl! - Mommy is gonna cry now *sniff*)
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To: wheelgunguru
As a dad to a 2 year old son and another on the way I can barely read about these incidents without wanting to cry. The poor little guy. I can't imagine how he must have felt. So sad.
9 posted on 10/17/2003 1:47:42 PM PDT by Ribeye (Meet the twins....Pete& Re-Pete. My consecutive numbered Vaquero's...)
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To: wheelgunguru
This is heart breaking. My prayers for the family!
10 posted on 10/17/2003 1:47:59 PM PDT by Sunshine Sister
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To: stanz
What the hell is a parent supposed to do? I already feel like the damn safety Czar when it comes to my kids. Stuff like this just shouldn't happen. And while I am ranting I would like to add that the Fox (CH 25--not FOXNEWS) Anchor "woman" interviewing the poor crushed father this morning really made me sick. They hadn't found the poor kid yet and the man was obviously distraught to no end and cracking and she asked him questions until he broke down stuttering and sobbing. Made me SICK!
Sorry, I am just SO pissed off and sad about this :(
11 posted on 10/17/2003 1:48:25 PM PDT by wndycndy (Beagles For Bush!)
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To: Sir Gawain

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?

12 posted on 10/17/2003 1:50:49 PM PDT by JustPiper (Curses to the Billy Goat and The Bambino !!!)
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To: wndycndy
They hadn't found the poor kid yet and the man was obviously distraught to no end and cracking and she asked him questions until he broke down stuttering and sobbing. Made me SICK!

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.

13 posted on 10/17/2003 1:52:35 PM PDT by Catspaw
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To: MeeknMing; Matthew Paul; Pro-Bush; FairOpinion; unspun; MightyMouseToSaveThe Day; ...
Ping!
14 posted on 10/17/2003 1:53:01 PM PDT by JustPiper (Curses to the Billy Goat and The Bambino !!!)
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To: wndycndy
I didn't know about any of that. It must be so hard. This week has been chock full of sadness. First Terri Schiavo, then the Staten Island Ferry accident, and now this little boy.

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.

15 posted on 10/17/2003 1:57:45 PM PDT by stanz (Those who don't believe in evolution should go jump off the flat edge of the Earth.)
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To: wheelgunguru
Sad. Just yesterday I took a survival class in Mineral Wells State Park (TX). It was for a group of homeschoolers, so it was dumbed down for the little kids, but the info was still useful...

Here's a tip that'll help in this situation: Take trash bags with you when you hike, two at least. If it starts to rain, you can step into one so it covers your lower body, poke a face hole in another, and put it over the top of your body. It keeps out rain, blocks wind, and keeps in heat.

They did a display of jars filled with water that was 100 degrees. They put a t-shirt sleeve over one, a wool sleeve over another, a sweatpants leg over one, and a tshirt sleeve + wool sleeve + trash bag over the last one. Then they poured water over them and set them in front of fans. We went away for two hours, and when we came back, the last one had only lost 4 degrees (versus the 25-30 degrees the other jars lost).

Just a helpful hint. Also bring a whistle and a mirror.
16 posted on 10/17/2003 1:58:13 PM PDT by 4mycountry (Here's to Bush '04, Mr. Limbaugh, the outlawing of speedos and the banning of kiddie animes! *glug*)
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To: stanz
20? Does she live with you?
17 posted on 10/17/2003 2:01:51 PM PDT by 4mycountry (Here's to Bush '04, Mr. Limbaugh, the outlawing of speedos and the banning of kiddie animes! *glug*)
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To: stanz
She says the cell phone is an electronic collar

No kidding. I wish we had had cell phones when I was raising my kids. GPS tracking devices would have been great, too.

18 posted on 10/17/2003 2:04:56 PM PDT by wheelgunguru
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To: wheelgunguru
Darn near impossible to keep warm even with the right stuff
if you don't know how to stay dry.

That rain really dropped his chances.
Remember when you FEEL COLD, you already are in the first stage of hypothermia,
PUT SOMETHING ON!
If you are starting to shiver and shake, you are in the second stage and are already in a position to start making BAD decisions.
PUT SOMETHING ON, eat something HOT!.
Even then it will take some time for you to reaclimate.
If you are shaking uncontrolably and teeth are chattering,
If you are dazed, and confused, you're chance of surviving
even near freezing temps is VERY VERY BAD.
19 posted on 10/17/2003 2:05:14 PM PDT by tet68 (multiculturalism is an ideological academic fantasy maintained in obvious bad faith. M. Thompson)
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To: JustPiper
I hate to see the innocent die, especially being so young. Prayers sent!
20 posted on 10/17/2003 2:06:14 PM PDT by Pro-Bush (Homeland Security + Tom Ridge = Open Borders --> Demand Change!)
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