Missing Boy Scout Found in NC Mountains

Michael Auberry, a 12-year-old boy who has been in the Boy Scouts for about a year, vanished Saturday in a heavily wooded area near the Blue Ridge Parkway that winds through the mountains of western North Carolina. His troop, which consists of about 10 scouts and three adult leaders, went for a hike early Saturday morning, but Michael stayed behind with an adult leader "because apparently he wanted to sleep in," said David Bauer, a park ranger. The troop came back to the camp for lunch and Michael was there when they returned, but shortly after lunch they noticed that he was missing.

Bauer told reporters that as far as he knows, there were no arguments or interactions with his family or other members of the troop that would have caused him to leave the camp. Crews were called to the camp to begin scouring the rugged terrain for clues that might lead them to the missing boy. Searchers discovered Michael’s mess kit within a mile of the camp site Saturday afternoon, but the boy wasn't found until Tuesday morning.

National Park Service spokeswoman Tina White said that park rangers worked with Michael’s family to learn all they could about how well the boy might be prepared to react to a situation such as being lost in the wilderness. About 70 people searched logging roads and trails surrounding the area Monday, including crews from the FBI.

Monday’s search was aided by sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s, much higher than the freezing temperatures overnight Saturday and Sunday. "The temperatures definitely play a factor," said White. "It has been very cold at night, but this young man was very well dressed. He had a fleece jacket on and another jacket. We've had people who have been out a week or longer and survived."

Search and rescue teams flew a plane with heat-sensing equipment over the area Monday night, and dog teams were brought in to broaden the search area, with searchers staying on the trails to avoid anyone else becoming lost.

The dog teams proved to be a winning idea, because one of the search dogs was integral to locating Michael Tuesday morning. When the boy was found, he was dehydrated, hungry, and disoriented, but otherwise healthy.

Details are still emerging about why Michael left his camp, but it appears that he was simply homesick and had decided to try to walk home. His father, Kent Auberry, told reporters that he still doesn't know much about his son's ordeal, mostly because he decided not to ask too many questions.