Posted on 03/20/2007 8:15:14 AM PDT by Lonely NY Conservative
No details yet....
I understand that and yes the boy was 12 and I will grant him inexperience. But where he was, I have been. I fish that area several times a year. The creek is very open tho there are some parts you describe further up.
And yes you can get turned around especially in those rhodadendren "hells" as they are called [as you know I am sure but others may not] or laurel slicks.
Like I said, that particular area is at the head of the cove and very narrow. Its just hard to be very lost, in my opinion. There are 3 trails: the trail to the Caudill cabin, the trail to Bluff mountain and the fire road [there is a 4th and 5th but they are not close...both are close to the parking lot]. Its hard to be between the Caudill and Bluff Mtn trail because its a very steep drop off.
Maybe its completely innocent. I am real curious...I guess from knowing the area so well.
On the news tonight they said that the reason the scout walked away from camp is that he missed his family, so he left camp to "go home." (I guess that might explain why he maybe didn't try to head back in the direction of camp.) He was surprised to see the search volunteer with the dog, as he wasn't aware that anyone was looking for him.
Well are all different for a reason. We have had experience in our family with Ritalin that was not good. I do not believe in drugs for children. Parents and teachers have the obligation to stimulate children to excel. Excelling under the influence of drugs will cause a crash at some time.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/NEWSREC0101/303200001
Local news indicates that he made no apparent effort to assist the searches (like, staying in one place) even though he could hear people calling and see helicopters overhead, etc.
In this situation, my son would be in deep, serious trouble.
>> Didn't seem likely under circumstances, too remote and many other scouts & leaders in area. Not typical pedophile terrain.
> Where is the typical pedophile terrain? Let one sicko find out there's little boys out in the wilderness and it's the perfect place. Thankfully, not today.
AMEN! Thanks for hauling up that S-W-E-E-P-I-N-G dangerous assumption. There is no such thing as "typical pedophile terrain" -- like rats and disease bacteria they can be found nearly everywhere.
Sickos can be found in the darnedest places. Their only requirement is easy access to kids, and concealment. On that basis, nearly anything is possible.
Occasionally our Guardian Angels Chapter goes looking for sickos, usually in response to "intelligence" we get from the street. To find them, you have to accept that their thinking pattern is twisted right around, nearly opposite to ours.
The sicko mind thinks different to everyone else. Normal people would think to themselves: "lousy rainy cold nite, I'll order in some pizza, watch CSI:Miami on telly and demolish a few cold beers."
The sicko's mind instead works something like this: "Excellent! It's p*ssing down rain, no cops likely to be walking around to interfere. Normal folk will stay inside, too: no joggers: they'll order in pizza and watch CSI:Miami and drink beer instead. But the Swimming Pool should still be open, and there's that great little bike path they use to get home from there... the kids won't be looking for anyone: they'll be too busy trying to get home out of the wet! Perfect!!!"
They find "opportunity" where normal people would never think to look. That is because we normal people are not conditioned like them. That's why they are sickos: they only need easy access to kids, and concealment. That is all.
Make no assumptions: sickos are wiley and crafty and they often get away with it for years -- which means they get years of "practise" and become "experts" in their craft.
In part this is because people make S-W-E-E-P-I-N-G dangerous assumptions.
There's a youth that could well be eating off the mantle for awhile. HUGS first, then..............
Eric Rudolph was way the heck out west toward Murphy, wasn't he?
So what? Your opinion is not the only one in the world. Why do you think your experience should outweigh mine?
Yes, I wonder also.
Again, you may be onto something.
My brother and I were camping a few years ago in Virginia, near Harrisonburg, and in the site next to ours a Scout troop set up shop for the weekend. I swear, those boys were in their tents and sound asleep by 9:00 PM Friday and Saturday night. We commented to the scoutmaster about that on their last day, and he basically said the same thing you did, that they ran those kids until they dropped, hiking and rock climbing.
Thank you...once again The Voice of Reason!
the story will be interesting.
maybe after many storeis...remember the Runaway Bride?..people get skeptical.
Thanks for your replys.
Is it just possible that with all the attention the Shawn Hornebeck kid and the other boy got, that myabe this boy wanted to be on TV also and get attention.
So far from the reports he sure seemed, calm and not too messed up or terrified for being out there that long alone.
every camper including Boy Scouts shouldn't leave home without an air horn, and a $25 radio shack walkie talkie(the scout leader should then delegate a channel for emergency only) in their back packs(mine goes at least 2 miles, I use it for communicating with hunting buddies) that kid would have been found in 15 minutes by the scouts
and they ought to have a merit badge for using hand held GPS units and everyone locks in base camp coordinates as soon as they arrive
the rules are if you step foot out of base camp you have your walkie talkie (on your belt or in your back pack) and or the hand held GPS(both are the size of a cell phone)
no sense in any camper or hiker getting lost in the woods in this day in age
You mean like the Runaway Bride?
Wait..wait...you mean like the recent case where a lady said she was carjacked and put in the trunk?
You mean like....oh nevermind.
Come on Soccermom....something smells here. How could a twelve year old kid walk off by himself and disappear?
I don't know, it's been so long ago since our son was in Cub Scouts. I thought that's what I heard the spokeswoman say, but I could be wrong. I just thank God that he was found alive. He must've known what to do due to his training, thank goodness!
But he likely didn't know the area little if any and it makes a difference. Several things were said one was he heard the rescuers calling but they couldn't hear him. Makes sense to me especially if they were near a stream or the winds were up and they were at least up till yesterday here on the other side of the mountains.
His physical condition is telling as well although it sounds like he found a dry place at least. Doing so likely saved his life. He was dehydrated which says he was likely out in the woods. The physical evidence they located such as food wrappers etc says he was out in the woods. I will say this though not many 12 year olds would not have been traumatized by the experience. I think his break may have came from last nights rain. When the dog hit his scent it was fresh.
The Rangers are trained to determine if someone has actually been out there that long and I'd say they are looking hard at the area. Foot note where the kid was lost in Cades Cove in 69 or 70 it was up around 4000 feet if I recall a little less dense and there were several trails including Bote Mountain Road near by. People back then were whispering foul play. I know of searches for people even in more populated and developed areas where they could not find a person but found a body later.
Some people can literally get lost walking out of sight of their vehicle. They have no sense of direction whatsoever and many have hunted and fished for years believe it or not. When they get back to their car they are almost panicked and these are adults. I've seen it happen on Wildlife Managed Areas where if you walked two hours you would either come out on a lake or in someones farm. The worse enemy when lost is panic because it effects judgment and can get you deeper in trouble like a kid running several miles in the wrong direction and most likely not in a straight line either. Next is the elements. You are I may be able to get out of those mountains on our own if we were lost but weren't injured but likely not a 12 year old. Some can but most can't even though they are scouts.
One other thing he was looking for a road to catch a ride home according to reports. That tells me he knew nothing about the area. Heck he couldn't even back track how he came in if you think about it.
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