He Once Was Lost But Now Is Found

The lost NC boy scout, that is.


(AP) A rescue dog led searchers Tuesday to a 12-year-old Boy Scout, who was weak and dehydrated but alive in the rugged North Carolina mountains, about a mile from the camp he had wandered away from four days earlier.

"He was a little disoriented, but he was great," said Misha Marshall, the South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association volunteer whose dog, Gandalf, found Michael Auberry on a wooded ridge.

Apparently the boy has read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen:

As a Scout, Michael had had some wilderness training. His father also talked about one of Michael's favorite books when he was younger, a story about a boy whose plane crashes in the wilderness, and how the boy survives on his own.

"I think he's got some of that book in his mind," Auberry said. "They do a great job in the Scouts of educating the kids of what to beware of and tips. I'm hopeful that Michael has taken those to heart."

It's a good book for young adults to learn survival from. I recommend it without reservation.