Boy Scout Lost In Freezing Woods For Four Days Found Alive

This is one Boy Scout who really lived up to the motto ‘be prepared.’

A 12-year-old member of the world famous organization who went missing in rugged terrain in the mountains of North Carolina on the weekend has been found safe and alive.

The youngster, Michael Auberry, somehow got separated from the rest of his Boy Scout troop during a tour of the area on Saturday.

He’d slept in while his friends had gone off together exploring. By the time they came back, he was gone.

Authorities think he may have embarked on an exploring expedition in the woods by himself and gotten lost.

They found his backpack a mile out in the wilderness, an empty bag of potato chips and a candy wrapper mute testimony to the fact he’d exhausted his meager food supplies.

Worry mounted about his fate, as temperatures dipped first into the 40s, then the 30s and finally the 20s.

Four days went by as searchers, dogs and helicopters all fanned out desperately searching for the child, hoping for the best and fearing for the worst.

Thankfully, it was the former they got to report over their radios, as a joyous celebration of cheers and tears broke out with news he’d been found.

He was located only a mile and a half from where he’d first gone missing.

“They have found Michael,” a radio transmission blared out through the silence. “He is OK and they are getting ready to walk out.”

His frantic parents rushed to the scene for a reunion, relief replacing worry on their haggard and worn faces.

Dad Kent Auberry never gave up hope.

“What we got here is our son, who’s lost, lost somewhere out there, and we don’t know where he is,” he related hours before the rescue. “We’ve got great professionals looking for him.”

His father claims his son’s favourite book concerns a boy whose plane crashes in the wilderness, forcing him to survive on his own.

He suspects Michael may have had that in mind during his long and lonely journey looking for help.

The boy was wearing two coats when he disappeared, leading to hope they would keep him warm enough to survive the frigid conditions.

Michael Auberry is said to be cold, weak from hunger and dehydrated, but he’s alive and relatively uninjured.

And for now, that’s all that really matters.