Missing Utah boy scout found alive

[Morningstar]

I don't want to sound mean, but this scout was 0-for-3. I imagine that the boy who got lost last year was, too, and that makes me question whether the troop leaders, camp staff, and council leadership really spend enough time drilling safety and woods-wisdom into the heads of their charges.

That's all fine and true. But do you know how he got lost?

This little kid, with his poor sense of direction, could have gotten lost at night while he was on his way to/from the toilet? (Or tree.) I agree, he should have stayed put. But the Buddy System? Who would bother to wake someone up in the middle of the night, and ask them to come with you because you need to take a smurf?

Actually, according to new reports, he was last seen an hour before dinner. My guess is that it was still light out at that time.

I got this from an online news article, http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/55900 :

Brennan did tell his parents that while he was lost he kept two Hawkins family mantras in his mind – stay on the trail and don’t talk to strangers.
“His biggest fear, he told me, was that someone would steal him,” said the boy’s mother, Jody, at a news conference outside the Hawkins home.
He was so worried that he avoided rescuers on horseback and ATVs who he thought to be strangers.
Brennan told his parents he did not eat or drink during the four days and at night he got into what he calls “midget mode,” crouched down with his sweatshirt pulled over his knees.

I still think shapu is correct in his thinking and the appropriate people, including his parents, could have done much better job in teaching this kid some basic survival skills. Such as, if lost, definitely stay on the trail, but don't keep walking. Stay right where you are. And, after 4 days, it is OK to take a risk and drink water from the river. Better to get a GI infection than to die from dehydration. And, most of all, if you get lost, most likely there will be people looking for you. If this happens, it is OK to talk to them, even if they are strangers.

And, perhaps, this kid, being the age that he was, really had no business being at this camp without a parent's supervision. After all, the kid wasn't old enough to be a Boy Scout. He was only there because his friend's father was working at the camp at the time. The friend, who was also still a Cub Scout, had invited him to go along. Yet, they seemed to be doing all of the stuff that the older, more experienced Boy Scouts were doing. Without, in my opinion, the supervision that their young age warranted.

I'm glad he was found....
But from reading some of these comments...
It makes me wonder... is the boy like... not all there mentally?
Because come on... who is going to go missing and then NOT talk to a "stranger" when they get lost and see someone?
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

That was my thought as well. However, maybe he became delirious from the lack of food and water.

If I ever let my daughter go to a camp of any kind, she is wearing a big, fat whistle around her neck!

[Kitten Medli]

I'm glad he was found....
But from reading some of these comments...
It makes me wonder... is the boy like... not all there mentally?
Because come on... who is going to go missing and then NOT talk to a "stranger" when they get lost and see someone?
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Well, I'm older than him and even I would be shy, and it's true he could be delirious. I'm just glad he's okay.

[alien]

It already stated, he was heading to the artificial climbing wall.
And I know what you mean about buddy systems and toilets... BUT! They actually made us have the buddy system to go to the bathroom (which was two yards away from the cabin and had really bright porch lights) in Girl Scout camp. Which is part of why I quit....

ok, to get one thing straight, he was a CUB scout, theres a difference ok...that was bugging me...now your saying that girlscouts get cabins?!?!?!? i know this is way off topic but boyscouts have to sleep in smelly tents where bears can eat them, and girlscout leaders are afraid of you getting lost a few feet away from the cabin???? Anyway, If I was a parent, i wouldnt let my CUB scout anywhere out of state, when i was a CUB scout we never went camping because "we didnt have the money" after raising 10 thousand or so dollars in popcorn sales, so i just wouldnt let my CUB scout camp because even if i did get to camp as a CUB scout my mom wouldnt let me, so it would just be instinctive for me to not to let my child out of state.

[Amethyst]

I'm glad he was found....
But from reading some of these comments...
It makes me wonder... is the boy like... not all there mentally?
Because come on... who is going to go missing and then NOT talk to a "stranger" when they get lost and see someone?
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Well, I'm older than him and even I would be shy, and it's true he could be delirious. I'm just glad he's okay.

Excuse me, but why would you be shy if someone's trying to rescue you?

"Ooh look, people, and I've been stranded out here for four days! No, wait....maybe I shouldn't...."

[Bangel]

Psh. So much for Boy Scouts being taught so many more survival skills than girl scouts. I mean, seriously. How the hell do you get lost when you can follow a road?!

Though I believe the kid is a moronic little chump, at least he's okay.

EDIT: And Alien, it depends on the camp. Yesterday I slept on a tarp with a canvas propped over it on poles, and there have been times where I've had heated cabins. It depends on the camp site's preference. I've been a girl scout for... *counts* 7 years now and have been in four different age groups (Daisies are kindergarten, Brownies are 1st-3rd grade, Juniors are 4th-6th grade, Cadettes are 7th-9th graders and Seniors (the only thing I haven't been) are 10th-12th) and camped long before that with my mother (who was/is a girl scout leader). I've seen most every kind of lodging there is to see, and I think I am pretty able to say that not all girl scout camps are easy going.

[Kitten Medli]

I'm glad he was found....
But from reading some of these comments...
It makes me wonder... is the boy like... not all there mentally?
Because come on... who is going to go missing and then NOT talk to a "stranger" when they get lost and see someone?
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Well, I'm older than him and even I would be shy, and it's true he could be delirious. I'm just glad he's okay.

Excuse me, but why would you be shy if someone's trying to rescue you?

"Ooh look, people, and I've been stranded out here for four days! No, wait....maybe I shouldn't...."

:roll:

Maybe he didn't know they were rescuers? I dunno. Some people just have problems like that, all the more silly it may seem, and especially if he was delirious.

I just think he could honestly be cut some slack, he's still just a kid.

[Morningstar]

ok, to get one thing straight, he was a CUB scout, theres a difference ok...that was bugging me...now your saying that girlscouts get cabins?!?!?!? i know this is way off topic but boyscouts have to sleep in smelly tents where bears can eat them, and girlscout leaders are afraid of you getting lost a few feet away from the cabin???? Anyway, If I was a parent, i wouldnt let my CUB scout anywhere out of state, when i was a CUB scout we never went camping because "we didnt have the money" after raising 10 thousand or so dollars in popcorn sales, so i just wouldnt let my CUB scout camp because even if i did get to camp as a CUB scout my mom wouldnt let me, so it would just be instinctive for me to not to let my child out of state.

alien, we think alike. I like the way you capitalized the CUB. Kids under a certain age either need to be more closely supervised or have a parent with them when camping in the wilderness. And, this wasn't like the Girl Scout camps I had been to, tucked in the midst of a Chicago suburb (walk long enough and you will find a grocery store), this was the WILDERNESS!!!!

Kitten, it isn't the kid that I am having a problem with. It is the lack of supervision/instruction he was given. *cough* parents *cough*

And, my legal background is poking at me: I am surprised that the Boy Scouts organization would let an underage kid attend a camp that was clearly geared for kids with more maturity and experience--liability issues and such.

[Amethyst]

I'm glad he was found....
But from reading some of these comments...
It makes me wonder... is the boy like... not all there mentally?
Because come on... who is going to go missing and then NOT talk to a "stranger" when they get lost and see someone?
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Well, I'm older than him and even I would be shy, and it's true he could be delirious. I'm just glad he's okay.

Excuse me, but why would you be shy if someone's trying to rescue you?

"Ooh look, people, and I've been stranded out here for four days! No, wait....maybe I shouldn't...."

Maybe he didn't know they were rescuers? I dunno. Some people just have problems like that, all the more silly it may seem, and especially if he was delirious.

I just think he could honestly be cut some slack, he's still just a kid.

Generally, if you're lost and you see people, it shouldn't matter if they're rescuers or not.

[Zero!]

Generally, if you're lost and you see people, it shouldn't matter if they're rescuers or not.

What if they were a murderer on the run or a child rapest? Then you'd be pretty screwed if you talked to them...

But yeah, kid should've talked to someone. I can understand being shy though. Personally if I was delirious from lack of food/water and I heard a bunch of people walking around screaming my name, I'd think they were after me for not good reasons, and I'd be all like "O.O Eeeek" and run. XP