Just some thoughts about kids getting lost in the woods

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/21/missing.scout/index.html

For the most part, if I kept a cool head and had the right tools, I think I could survive on my own in the wild long enough for a search and rescue party to find me. My little brother is very smart at his age and God I hope nothing ever happened to him, but I think he could last too. My sisters, well, I have confidence in them too.

My father was very much an outdoorsman when he was growing up, he wanted to be a mountain man, but then he went and had some kids. He was great at hunting, trapping etc, for some time when I was a little kid, that's what put food on the table. Anyway, his knowledge is far superior to that of my siblings and myself. He's taught us somethings, others he hasn't been able to.

The kid above had some training with the Boyscouts, and that probably helped him, they don't really explain his injuries. Probably malnutrition and dehydration, probably problems from the altitude, if he didn't live in the area. I was thinking about how my siblings and I need just outdoors training. I know how to bait a hook, fish well enough to catch something, some basic outdoors techniques. It might take all day, but I can start a fire without matches, just not very well. I'm a big guy, so I can survive on my "stores" around my middle, but I would still like to be able to trap/hunt/fish in a bad situation.

This is probably the story that broke the camels back, I think I need to at least take a basic course in my area. I live in MD, right on the state line, between the cities of York PA and Baltimore MD. I guess I should look further into PA. See if I can get my father to impart some wisdom to my brother and I, and maybe I can pass on something later on down the road.
 
Don't tell me the Lord does not work in mysterious ways, Silenthunder I was looking at your site when I spotted this and had prayed for this child yesterday just thinking 'little boy, go home' and really worried about a situation I knew I had no control over but to pray. Today it felt like he was home free...and I never knew he had been found up till now. Amen. Cavelady
 
I would probably throw a fit for about 10 minutes, yellin' and cussin', maybe even cry, but then get down to business. I know, ooh big crybaby. BUt the truth is, everyone has a process for things like this and that would probably be mine. Silenthunter, you and I sound similar. I can hunt well, fish ok, but the fact is I'm very resourceful and I think that's what would save my life.

Some people see a plastic bag lying on the ground. I see a way to make condensation, i.e. drinking water. Some see leaves, I see insulated bedding. Building a fire in front of you, so that your back is snug up against a wall or hill. The heat will reflect off that surface for warmth, so you'll be warm front and back(picked that up in F&S magazine). It's very hard for me to throw things away because I see a value there that I might need some day. Not something I want to run out and buy, but something that might come in handy and save me a trip to the hardware stores, etc.

I lead a busy life and don't have many really close friends. So when it's time to bring home that 300 pound safe, I'm on my own. At 180 pounds, I can unload that safe from the car, get in the house, down the stairs, and up into it's spot, flying solo.

Simple things, like using cardboard underneath the safe, so it slide better on carpet, or using the weight of the safe to your advantage and not against you. When people are attacked, they tend to fight or pull away from their attacker. I say, go with flow, you want my 180 pounds flopping down on your ass, you got it. That's 180 pounds pushing, plus the force of them pulling you. I'll take my chances breaking away once we hit the ground or wall or whatever.

Anyway, I believe it's this type of thinking and resourcefullness that can get you through. Would training benefit me? Absolutely. Conserving energy is the number one life saver in a survival situation IMHO. The more activity you have to perform, the more you need to survive. Training would probably help conserve a significant amount of energy.

PS Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I can't help but think that this young boy was not alone the entire time. How did he end up 5 miles from where he was last seen? If he had scout training, wouldn't they have taught him to stay put! I realize your mind can go in that situation, but I guess there are too many 2-legged animals out there that make me skeptical. Not of his ability to survive, but of the reason he was "lost" to begin with. I hope I'm wrong.
 
Northern Utah, 8500 ft up... pretty brutal... It's got to get very cold at night..

I need to side with Josy.. something doesn't sound right.
 
I just read up on the latest on this boy...

He isn't retarded, just a little slow, and if any of you can remember back to when you were 11, it was easy to get misplaced, every thing you see is brand new and one tree, bend in the trail, rock, looks just like another of the same thing.

I would agree that there are basic rules this little fellow broke, and it could have very well cost him his life.

One of the big things that the media hasn't stated with this guy being on his own with out food, (sounds like he had plenty of water) is that he could have went weeks with out food, as long as he stayed warm enough and had a certain amount of water.

One doesn't have to be warm and cozy, just warm enough, and it sounds as if he was plenty active enough during the day to dispell any cold he may have suffered from the night before.

I have also found myself pushed into this fog they say he was in, on occassion when I am pushing myself to see what I am capable of.

I have enough training to stop the excersies any time I feel the need, but do understand what it is like.

I will side with Josy in the fact that any one practicing survival techniques should use what ever they have or can find in their environment to help out with a situation.

A plain peice of rock can be turned into a crude cutting instrument, a stick into a digging tool, the sun as a directional compass...

This little guy goes to show, that while it is good to be in excellent shape, some individuals who find themselves in this situation are far from being physical in any way.

One can go a long way if they have the right information, and all of these books and things that have been recomended may not seem important, but what is contained in them that you have read about, may be that very same little idea that pulled you out of a bad situation.

That is why I like to breeze thru a lot of these kinds of sites, you just never know (and for me it still happens all the time) when a little tid bit of information that some one else is willing to share, will come in handy and it will be some thing I can put in my own bit of knowledge for later use...

Russ... :)
 
I think his dad telling him not to talk to strangers,could have killed himself,The boy says, i seen people on horse and hid from them, most rescue people,are calling your name,to find you,this boy thinks there coming to steal him,I think that the dad should have explained to his son alittle better on that.
 
He was a city boy, over-trained even to survive in the city. He not only didn't talk to strangers (such as rescuers) he hid from them. Parents often focus on the most sensational threats and instill such fear in their children they can't cope. The danger of strangers, of weapons, and of fire were so heavily focussed on that how to find help was totally lost on the kid.

When I sent my son off to camp I said "screw the rules". He sure as hell had a pocket knife on him and Bic lighter. If he got lost he could make himself a campfire to attract attention and keep warm. He would at least know that it was better to be found by strangers than to wait until his parents found him.
 
I think the "dont' talk to strangers" teaching was what made his ordeal longer than it needed to be. I've heard excuses of dehydration fogging his thinking, etc, but if you're lost and you know it, wouldn't one of the first things you'd look for is someone, anyone else?!? I'll admit, at 11 YO, my own thinking wasn't the clearest at the best of times. :rolleyes: I'd still think that they'd have gone over simple (to us) basic safety procedures if someone got lost, like stop runnning around trying to un-lose yourself, siddown, git comfy, and wait for someone to come looking for you. Don't worry about some Wacko Jacko finding you, he's back in town scopin' out the playground or Chuck E. Cheese, not the woods; just sit and wait, someone legit will come looking for you, just don't get in a hurry to get unlost.

Matt in Texas
 
The parents are at fault here. When I was a youn'un I was taught to stay put if lost to look and listen for help then to back track only if absolutley certain of the path.
Hiding from the rescuers seems to be a common response in the very young. I have heard of this several times in other cases.
... just my $0.02.
Enjoy!
 
I'm glad that someone took the initiative to think out of the box and search in another area and then got lucky enough to spot the boy. I'm glad the boy was fortunate to have gotten lost during a warm spell and that the rain was put on hold. Otherwise, there could most certainly have been a different outcome to everything. GOD was definitely at work in all of this.
 
Jeff Clark said:
He was a city boy, over-trained even to survive in the city. He not only didn't talk to strangers (such as rescuers) he hid from them. Parents often focus on the most sensational threats and instill such fear in their children they can't cope. The danger of strangers, of weapons, and of fire were so heavily focussed on that how to find help was totally lost on the kid.

When I sent my son off to camp I said "screw the rules". He sure as hell had a pocket knife on him and Bic lighter. If he got lost he could make himself a campfire to attract attention and keep warm. He would at least know that it was better to be found by strangers than to wait until his parents found him.
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Smartest thing I have heard yet.

Kids are brain washed against strangers no question.

this kid lived not because of his training or smarts or anything else other than the weather was in his favor. WIth the liability BS in scouting today you are not allowed to teach kids anything with risk anymore compared to what we did. Hell we went hunting and learned weapons safety.

If he is a little slow that just compounds the problem even more.

I would be wondering where the supervision was in all this. I mean there is a BIG difference between a 14 yr old scout and an 11 yr old who is slow in the amount of supervision needed.

Another reason why my kids never got involved with scouting. Scouting has changed too much and political correctness has ruined it. Don't even get me started with the women and girls in scouting debate :mad: It has evolved into something Baden Powell is turning in his grave over.

Skam
 
scalesandtails said:
I have just read that the boy was not even a scout,he was just tagging along on the trip.
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I heard that. Didn't know if was true though.

I also heard a lot of BS about his scout training saved his life blah blah blah...

Goes to show the media is as screwed up as ever.

At the end of the day I am happy the kid pulled through but lessons must be learned and missinformation doesn't help in this process.

Skam
 
I live very close to where he got lost. Took my daughter to pony camp up Provo canyon here in Utah during all of this with the boy. Let me tell you guys, that girl scout camp was very well organized and they are not able to go anywhere alone. She had a ball, and the only thing that was lost that week was her luggage, for two days. I'm glad the boy was ok. But my eight year old would have wanted to be helped rather that hide.
 
Thats why I say all parents that spend time in the woods with their kids should learn tracking, at least the basics of pressure releases and how to identify their kids track on the trail. A lot of lost kids could be found quickly or even just found for that matter if their parents new the basics of tracking. Don't you think?

Ric
 
I think the big challenge for parents today is computers, Playstation, back yard basketball nets, hockey nets, etc. Children today don't have to go far from home for entertainment and to some extent that's good thing. Being technically apt is excellent for children today and I'm convince my son's excellent hand/eye coordination is the result of play station. But what they're losing is the training of social skills.

Kids don't know how to deal with rejection, ridicule, etc., which probably explains the number of school shootings, bomb threats, etc. They also don't know how to judge or size up strangers, simlpy because they lack exposure to them. I spent my life on my 5 speed bike, in school yards and play grounds. We knew how to entertain ourselves and we knew who was right and who looked "shady".

Socialization is the key here and children need more exposure to the outside world in order to get it. Experience, not a parent's lecture, is the best teacher.
 
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