"Little Boy Lost"

The first rule you learn in Search and Rescue is "Don't Get Involved," and nine out of ten times this is not hard to do, but it's that tenth time when you usually aren't so lucky. It becomes a small little place in your heart and soul and you pray that you'll forget, but you know that you won't. Suddenly, and without warning, it comes back like a shot. It can be triggered by a sound, a smell, or a little blond haired, blue eyed boy that you see walking with his mother.

Tommy and his parents and grandparents had gone out for a summer picnic with the rest of the family. It was a warm July day and they had gone to one of the local wilderness areas here in North Carolina. Tommy's cousins were there, too, and they kept an eye on Tommy while they were playing. Tommy's parents checked on him often, also. Nobody saw him wander off. But around lunch time when they went to eat, no one could find him. Everyone began searching, but nothing turned up. And that's when someone called the sherriff's office and a full scale search was started.

Bear and I were the closest to the area, so we were dispatched. Bear, a three year old golden retriever, is my rescue dog and partner in crime. By the time we arrived, the search was already in full swing. We checked into the command post and was told where Tommy had been last seen. It was already starting to get dark and the cool mountain breezes were picking up. Tommy had been missing for over six hours. Bear had picked up Tommy's scent and we, along with three others working with us, starting trailing it. Bear followed it to a small creek and then he lost the scent. We knew Tommy had gone into the creek, but which way? Up? Down? Or had he just come back on the side we were on?

For the next two hours, we went up and down, criss crossing back and forth. Toward daybreak, Bear found the scent again and we took off. We went through the woods to a small clearing and Bear went to the middle and sat down. This was his way of telling us that Tommy should have been there, but he wasn't. During the night a second Search and Rescue dog arrived and he came to the same place we were. We searched for over 72 hours, but we couldn't find Tommy. Where did a 4 year old boy disappear to? And how could he just disappear? I don't know and I guess we will never know because Tommy was never found.

We were released from the search. The dogs had done all they could. I remember looking back and seeing Tommy's parents and feeling like I had let them down and a part of me stayed there that night, grieving and mourning right along with them. . I loaded Bear into the wagon and headed out. Part way down the road, I pulled over and got into the back of the wagon with Bear and cried.

Today, some twelve years later, I was sitting in the mall when a mother came by with a little blond haired, blue eyed boy. She had him on a harness. There was a lady sitting next to me, telling her husband how cruel she thought the woman was, treating him like a dog. I wanted to tell her how wrong she was. This was a mother who loved her child enough to keep him close to her. You don't want to look into a parents eyes and tell them you can't find their child. And you don't want to look them in the eyes and tell them that their child won't ever be coming home. I've done that. Thankfully, that isn't always the case, but then there is that tenth time....

--Brenda Boone