Lost Scout, part II

[le Voyageur]

Someone suggested this on the Lost Scout thread , so let's put our heads together and talk this over and see if can help a wee bit, hey....

 

Here's an overview...

 

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2398744

 

here's a map....

 

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=40.73917&lon=110.9125

 

Lets begin by thinking like a 12 year old...My thoughts, the area shown by the cliff bands below the 11,340 ft. peak to the southeast of the lake...reason, it appears to be an easy scramble to the summit for a scenic overview of the area... (This message has been edited by a staff member.) (This message has been edited by a staff member.) (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

[le Voyageur]

 

 

This should correct the topozone link

 

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=40.73917&lon=-110.9125

[Bob White]

I am not sure you have the right area le Voyageur. The reports said the scout was last seen at Pool Lake, north of Mirror lake and the area you have located I believ is miles south of there.

[evmori]

I would agree with le Voyageur. Has anyone checked the lake????? 12 year old's love the water!

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Bob White]

The scout was walking away from the water because he had walked into the lake and gotten wet, and was heading back to his campsite to change into dry clothing.

[Bob White]

Here is the link for the north end of the Mirror Lake quad. http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=12&n=4506351&e=509558&s=100&size=m&u=7&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25I apologize for the misdirection, I meant to say it is SOUTH of the area identified by le Voyageur. But this is the area identified in the news article. As you can see there is a scout camp nearby on Scout Lake.

 

If the group was fishing Pool Lake, which could be one of the samll un-named lakes between Mirror and the scout camp there are a number of directions he could have gone and bcome lost or endangered. Notice that he may have needed to cross a highway. He also traveled near a swamp. Not to mention if he simply became disoriented and traveled ln the wrong direction.

 

Without greater detail such as his exact location when he left, his initial direction of travel and the period of time he was gone before the search began, it would be difficult to judge his possible whereabouts from our positions at home. I have to trust that the experts on the scene have the needed information, and are doing there best to recover the young boy.

 

God Speed.

BW(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[le Voyageur]

BW

 

I was using the location stated in the Salt Lake Tribune...I'll double check other articles to make sure..

[evmori]

It is STILL possible he went back TOWARD the lake. Remember, think like a 12 year old!

[le Voyageur]

 

That is highly likely....seems to be no mentioning in any of the articles concernig dragging any of the lakes, ponds, or streams. Nor did they bring in divers.

 

It's a good chance that after changing into his dry shoes he decided to try another location to fish at.

 

I'm also curious if this area has mountain lions - seems to be a good habitat for them.

[evmori]

If he was taken by an animal, there should be some trace, but I would not rules that out either. I say drag the lake.

[MidwestMom]

This story has touched me deeply; my 12 year old son also just earned his Wilderness Survival badge at summer camp. It seems to me that a Scout who had just taken such training would have used it. At the very least, I would think he would have stayed put and signaled during the day before seeking some sort of emergency shelter at night. I don't know how soon the search startd, but since he left his father at 8 a.m., if he stayed put and called for help after becoming lost, he would have been found. But he has not been found, leading me to think that he might not have had the opportunity to use his training because something happened to him soon after leaving his father. Since his body has not been found (even though he was wearing red clothing), his body is either very well-concealed or no longer in the area. Most of the possible reasons have already been proposed in this thread: 1) Abduction by a human or predator (but a kidnapper is not likely to go to the wilderness to snatch a child and a predator would have left signs behind) 2) accidental drowning in a lake, pond or swamp and 3) being injured or killed in a fall to a location that has not been accessible to searchers or visible from the air, such as a foliage covered cliff ledge or cave entrance. Is there quicksand in the area? Any sinkholes? Any caves? I doubt that I can think of any possibility the professional searchers have not already considered, but it is challenging to try. My heart goes out to Garrett's family and Troop.

[txscoutdad]

Here is something that will make you think.

 

A three year old boy goes missing in Montana for THREE DAYS and is found alive. Yet this 12 yo trained Boy Scout seems to have lost his life.

 

When talking about searchers, the 3 yo the boy was found by a man who himself had become unsure of where he was.

After this long it would appear that maybe foul play was involved.

I can not imagine the agony that this dad and family is going through.

 

Here is a link to the story

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/08/30/missing.boy.ap/index.html

[MidwestMom]

I thought of one more possibility. What if Garrett climbed a tree, fell and became stuck in the branches? I would guess that the searchers have been looking down more than up, but I would have thought the search dogs would have found him in this case, though.

[PNScouter]

When I look at the topo I see a river to the west a highway to the east that almost converge to the south. If the boy went in those directions he should have been found by now. Assuming that he would not cross these features but rather follow them. I would focus further searches to the north.

 

However, I fear the worst and pray for the best.

[hops_scout]

This thread is locked. Second-guessing is not needed. If you want to offer suggestions, training, etc... please do so in another thread. Just stay on the topic as much as possible.