Lost Scout -- Found

[matuawarrior]

I got this off TV the other night but was not fully aware of the circumstances. I figured it would be on the Headlines of Scouter.com.

 

Here is the news site:

 

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2384323

 

My Opinion:

I am happy the Young Scout met up with the SAR Team.

 

His leaders though I do hold responsible for the incident. They need to review Hiking safety especially S.T.O.P.. The young scout would have been found earlier if he had stayed put. Also, the trip leader should have been doing headcounts, while on the go, or better yet put the scout up front to set the pace for the troop.

 

It's easy to say what should have been done after the incident even when we're not involved but it's the lessons learned from others mistakes that help us all.

 

All in all, I'm glad the young man was in good health when found and back with his family. Mark this up as one of the troop's "Remember When . . . Stories"

 

Matua

[VentureScoutNY]

 

Thank God he was found!

 

#1 Rule of Hiking:

 

The slow man sets the pace.

 

The fact that he fell behind, and was alone, is not very comforting. From the info in the link, he was both Brave in that he did not give up, and Cheerful, in that he made the best of the situation he was in.

[Fat Old Guy]

Some people have a knack for getting behind the group. We always have an adult as Tail End Charlie but there is one Scout who always manages to slip past him. Since this trend has been identified, he's always roped to an adult.

 

Before you say anything about the buddy system, we can't get it drummed into their heads. This spring, three third year Scouts went tramping about in the woods on a campout. Two returned. "Where's no. three?" "Dunno. He stopped to look at something that we didn't want to see." Fortunately, no. three showed up in about fifteen minutes.

 

 

[CubsRgr8]

And here I thought it was just my Webelos who couldn't fathom the buddy system! Very disappointing to hear it's still a problem with Boy Scouts. Besides "roping" them to an adult (you are kidding, right?), how do other units get their scouts to understand, accept and use the buddy system?

[EagleInKY]

When camping, we ask to make sure their "tent buddies" are there. That way, they're not always re-pairing up and getting confused. They can almost always remember the scout(s) that are in their tent. That, combined with a quick headcount, should suffice.

 

When hiking, we remind them that the group can only go as fast as the slowest person. With that in mind, they usually put the slowest person up front to set the pace. We also position a slower adult at the end to make sure none fall behind.

 

This is good timing. We're reviewing hike safety and starting to work on map & compass with our first year scouts. This will be a great article for them to learn from. Some good points and bad points regarding the scout and the troop.