The parents said Brennan had seen people searching for him on horse and ATV, but avoided them because of what he had been taught. "He stayed on the trail, he avoided strangers," Jody Hawkins said. "His biggest fear, he told me, was that someone would steal him." They said they hadn't talked to Brennan and his four siblings about what they should do about strangers if they were lost. "This may have come to a faster conclusion had we discussed that," Toby Hawkins said.
This is a very important point, which I hadn't thought of at all. It's sad that a child would be so frightened of kidnappers that he'd avoid people searching for him!
He was taught not to talk to strangers....he was also taught that should he get lost to stay in one place so he could be found!