[SandyB]

One of the boys and a group leader hiked six or so miles from the backcountry campsite in northern Yellowstone where the group was staying to call for help.

Walking 6 miles away from where the boy fell in, isnt going to save him. Why didnt the leader jump in and get him out?

Why would you let your kids go on a trip with a scout leader who wont jump in to get your kid if he falls in?

How many parents here would not jump in to get their child out of the water?

[Tax-chick]

There were three adults along. Maybe the one who walked to the phone couldn't swim.

Anyway, it seems improbable that any of the adults was near enough when the boy fell in for jumping in after him to do any good. If they had been, they'd have stopped the boys from pushing logs into the river ... it's pointless, dangerous, and violates the "leave no trace" rules.

[PROTESTBYPROXY]

You must have never seen a raging mountain river, no adult could have saved him.

[Sonar5]

sandyb,

You said:

"Walking 6 miles away from where the boy fell in, isnt going to save him. Why didnt the leader jump in and get him out?

Why would you let your kids go on a trip with a scout leader who wont jump in to get your kid if he falls in?

How many parents here would not jump in to get their child out of the water?"

---

Wow, you must have ESP or something.

If you weren't there, what right do you have to say that someone should have jumped in.

And until you are in the exact same position and have to make a judgment call like this troop did, maybe you shouldn't question what they did.

The first thing you do is go for help. That is what we teach our Scouts. Maybe the river was running fast so that jumping in was not possible to reach the Scout because of the current.

You don't know what transpired there, so maybe you should rephrase your comments.

If a Scout is swimming in water, at least ONE Adult Leader must be certified in Safe Swim Defense and agree to the eight points of safety. They are:

1. Qualified Supervision
2. Physical Fitness
3. Safe Area
4. Lifeguards on Duty
5. Lookout
6. Ability Groups
7. Buddy System
8. Discipline

Now, that applies to Scouts in a swimming area. I doubt this was a swim area.

There is also Safety Afloat for boating, rowing, kayaking, etc...

Barring That, they may not have been required to have someone certified if they were not swimming.

I mean, if a car full of scouts goes over a bridge of water, and the car goes over, does that mean the leader should be safe swim defense certified. Not in my opinion.

Accidents happen, and kids, all kids, not just scouts do stupid things and accidents happen no matter what you tell them.

By your biased analogy, what parent would send their kid on campout that would cause the Scout to fall in? In other words, there is no way to predict an accident such as this.

Was it preventable, yes, but unless you were there, how about some accolades for the Group leader who did the right thing and went for help.

That was the correct policy, and endangering others may not have been the right thing to do in this case, but we won't know unless someone that was there explains further.

Sonar5