Alive and apparently in good health.

Yahoo News

Thats great news!

This is also more evidence that (IMHO) preparing a kit under the assumption that you'll be found in 72 hours is not enough and we should consider something more like 6 or 7 days to be safe. Of course I do realize that the flip side of this is that if you carry too much gear then you end up leaving it at home and are then prepared for zero days which we can all agree is not enough. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I disagree. If the scout had carried a small kit with whistle it wouldn't have taken four days to find him.

If the scout had been smart enough to carry a kit, he probably wouldn't have gotten lost.

We have no way to know that if he had a whistle that he would have been found any sooner.

We can't really speculate about anything. But, the one thing I will say is if he had some outdoor training like all scouts should before they set foot in the woods there would have been a greater chance of avoiding this situation. This is why all new scouts in my troop are taught basic survival, basic first aid, basic fire building, and basic use of woods related tools before they are allowed to go on overnight outings. They do go on day outings, however they are watched extremely carefully and the activities are more structured. I am glad though that he came out basically ok, that often doesn't happen.

It was my understanding that he wasn't even a scout...he had just come on the trip with a friend...hence the lack of training. Also, I think this situation provides more information for searchers than for us. He went uphill??? Well, that just blew their minds. Unbelievable...first rule...never assume. It would have probably only taken them several hours if they had looked both ways. I think they had enough volunteers.

I have read elsewhere that he was a Cub Scout and came to a Boy Scout function with an older (boy scout) friend.

According to the interview I heard when he was first found (I think it was the search coordinator, not sure anymore), the kid had seen the horses but was afraid of them so he didn't get closer.

1- If you can see horses and humans, odds are pretty good that rescue wistle will probably be heard.
2. Afraid of horses?!? What's up with that? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I'm afraid of horses ever since I saw that video of the guy getting chased by the pony with 5 legs that was floating around the net a while back. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />