Boy scout dies in Zion

[trackrunner]

sad story

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700050141/Rangers-find-Las-Vegas-Boy-Scout-dead-in-Zion-park.html

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11681051

ZION NATIONAL PARK--The body of a missing boy scout was found Thursday in a ravine off of a main trail in the Kolob Terrace section at Zion National Park (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11681051#map).

. . .

His body was found Thursday around 3:30 p.m. in a ravine off the Hop Valley Trail.
Officials have not released a cause of death, but have said the extreme heat could have played a role.

more at the links above

[Scott Card]

Sad.......

[Sombeech]

in b4 LDS tangent

[oldno7]

That's really too bad. We had a lady behind us coming out of the subway the other day who passed out, her son called 911 on Pelon's phone.(she revived and hiked out)
Dehydration and heatstroke are scary things, along with other heat related illness'.

[Don]

Damn. That's too bad.

[Bo_Beck]

Poor guy. Dang it! Leaders....never, never leave anyone behind.

[JONBOYLEMON]

Poor guy. Dang it! Leaders....never, never leave anyone behind.

And in addition to that. Dangit parents!!!!!!!!! Raise a kid that can follow directions. I can almost guess what led to this tragedy.....

[trackrunner]

nps morning report for Monday, July 26, 2010
http://www.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/

Zion National Park (UT)
Boy Scout Dies During Backpacking Trip

On July 21st, twelve members of a Las Vegas-based Boy Scout troop were completing the second day of a planned four day backpacking trip in the park. Corey Buxton, 17, was having difficulty and lagged behind as the group hiked south along the Hop Valley Trail. Around noon, a leader who was hiking a short distance in front of Buxton turned around and did not see him. He hiked five minutes back down the trail to the point where he last saw Buxton, but could not find the boy. Rangers conducted a hasty search that afternoon by foot and helicopter with no success. More than 25 NPS personnel participated in the search the next day. Four dog teams from the Zion K-9 SAR Team, based in Hurricane, Utah, joined the operation. Early in the afternoon, two of the dog teams alerted on a side canyon near the point last seen. Ground searchers discovered Buxton’s body there. It appears that he hiked about 500 feet off of the trail and into the brushy side canyon. A cause of death will be determined by the state medical examiner’s office. [Submitted by Ray O’Neil, Plateau District Ranger]

[luzyfuerza]

Any adults who take OPKs (other people's kids) hiking have to designate an adult sweeper for the group...nobody hikes behind the sweeper. The adults also have to designate an adult lead...nobody gets in front of the adult lead The sweeper and the adult lead stay in visual contact with each other by stopping the faster members of the group when they can't see the sweeper. Nobody hikes alone...everybody has a buddy. When someone gets in trouble, the whole group helps.

Any OPKs who can't handle this way of doing things don't go on the trip. Adults who can't make sure that these rules are followed shouldn't be there, either.

Kids die if we ignore these principles. Why are they so tough to follow?

[Scott Card]

Any adults who take OPKs (other people's kids) hiking have to designate an adult sweeper for the group...nobody hikes behind the sweeper. The adults also have to designate an adult lead...nobody gets in front of the adult lead The sweeper and the adult lead stay in visual contact with each other by stopping the faster members of the group when they can't see the sweeper. Nobody hikes alone...everybody has a buddy. When someone gets in trouble, the whole group helps.

Any OPKs who can't handle this way of doing things don't go on the trip. Adults who can't make sure that these rules are followed shouldn't be there, either.

Kids die if we ignore these principles. Why are they so tough to follow? I like how you think because that is what I do, mostly. We sometimes have radios to help out and we sometimes spread more than visual but we always have a sweeper and we know which kids will lead out and which will fall behind BEFORE we go hiking because we have already hiked with them, done other activities with them, know how is fit and who isn't, and have spoken with other adults who have taken the kids before. I hope to never make the papers or the NPS report.

[iceman]

I pulled my 3 sons from BSA years ago, when 1 of them and his slightly out of shape buddy were left behind to find their own way back from a bike ride in the Moab area. Not sure what these leaders are thinking. At least one knowledgeable leader needs to stay behind the slowest of the kids. A very small inconvenience.

[Scott Card]

At least one knowledgeable leader needs to stay behind the slowest of the kids. A very small inconvenience.
:nod: This rule is pretty universal to the outdoors in almost all activities. I know it is true for canyoneering.

[DiscGo]

No individual scouts have ever been lost that stayed in between their leaders, and used the buddy system.

It is one of my greatest hopes that an article like the one below is never written about any of my boys.

[accadacca]

The one leader in front and one behind was always the rule in my troop.