11:50 AM EDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2007
By WCNC Staff
McGRADY, N.C. -- A missing 12-year-old Boy Scout has been found alive in the North Carolina mountains, a National Park ranger at the scene confirms.
Michael Auberry was found by rescue crews shortly after 11 a.m., said Tina White, National Park ranger. White said she learned the boy was found by radio, but did not know further details.
The incident commander, park ranger David Bauer, told a CNN producer in the command center that the boy "walked out on his own."
Tina White, the spokesperson for the National Park Service confirmed that saying that rescuers were preparing to walk Michael out on the trail.
"We expected him at the least to be weak and dehydrated but we're all smiling now because we're very optimistic that we'll soon be able to confirm this officially," said White.
She said the story would be confirmed when Michael was taken to the incident commander and he was able to confirm the report for himself.
The incident commander and Michael Auberry's parents were on their way to meet them about a mile and a half from the camp, White said.
When White said officials had received word from searchers that Michael Auberry had been found, it set off a celebration among leaders of several Scout troops waiting for news about the boy. White left a staging area shortly after 11 a.m. to go to the scene and try and confirm the report.