[AaronInCarolina]

In this case, those who have informed the public since he disappeared have repeatedly explained that the entire group was together, having just finished eating lunch, when Michael wandered off. They had returned from their hike from which Michael and the scout leader abstained.

So the broken rule...if this account is correct that makes it appear a rule was broken...did not cause or allow Michael to go missing. He went missing after leaving the entire group that had just eaten together.

Do we know FOR CERTAIN that the child ate lunch with the rest of the group, or was it only after the rest of the group returned and ate, that Michael was noticed as missing?? That is a question that I have not had cleared up for me. If, in fact, the group had returned to where they were all together eating and then Michael wandered off, why even mention the part about he and the leader having been separated from the rest of the group? The group returning and eating with Michael in their presence would have made the anecdote about the sleeping-in totally irrelevent, and useless to make note of. That's why I suspect that, yes, the group returned, but not necessarily with Michael in their midst. If you have reliable evidence to the contrary, then I humbly yield to your more complete knowledge.

[theFIRMbss]

>Do we know FOR CERTAIN that the child ate lunch with the rest of the group

With the MSM,
there is nothing for certain.
They report stories

as if they're written
by really bad AI 'bots.
We're all just guessing.

[Quilla]

From CNN (take with grain of salt):

Michael, who is from Greensboro, North Carolina, had remained with an adult at the campsite Saturday while other Scouts went for a hike, said Bauer of the park service. Michael was one of seven adults and four boys on the trip.

Dave Craft, assistant scoutmaster, said Michael stayed behind because his feet got cold after playing in a creek. He was tired and wasn't feeling well, said Craft, who left the group Saturday afternoon on business.

When the other Scouts returned, they ate lunch with Michael, who later disappeared from the camp, Bauer said.

Once Scouts and their leaders noticed that Michael was not in camp, they began a search and, within a half-hour, called the park service, Bauer said.