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Boy Scout found alive after 4 days in N.C. wilderness is recovering

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 22, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The 12-year-old Boy Scout rescued after spending four days lost in the rugged North Carolina mountains remained hospitalized Wednesday, recovering from severe dehydration and exposure to cold.

Michael Auberry had lost feeling in his fingers and toes by the time rescue workers found him Tuesday morning. But his father, who said his son was experiencing "frost nip," said feeling was returning to his son's fingers and doctors expected the same for his toes.

Kent Auberry said his son was even cracking a few jokes.

"Just the difference between yesterday and today, Michael is coming back to us," Auberry said. "This was a pretty traumatic experience for him. He felt alone as he could feel, and thought, 'I have screwed up.' "

Michael wandered away from his campsite Saturday, setting off an intensive search involving dogs, heat-seeking aircraft and dozens of park rangers and volunteers. Michael was found Tuesday by a search dog named Gandalf, who caught the boy's scent about a mile from the Scout troop's camp site.

Upset some of his friends were not on the camping trip, Michael was apparently homesick and looking for a road so he could hitchhike home, Auberry said. But his family hasn't pressed him for more details just yet on why he went into the woods with nothing but his mess kit and some potato chips.

It only took about 15 minutes for the boy to realize it wasn't a smart move, his father said. But by that time, he was already lost.

Michael heard the search helicopters and people calling him, but he yelled back and they didn't hear him, his father said. At night, when the temperature dropped into the 20s, Michael replayed episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants in his head to entertain himself. Without any food left, he survived on creek water.

"He's pretty overwhelmed by his experience outdoors. He said he doesn't want to think about it," his father said. "He told me he prayed he would starve to death, so he could go to heaven."

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 02:13:04]