NationStates Jolt Archive

Anyone here heard about Brennan Hawkins, the 11-year-old Utah Boy Scout who was lost in the Uitas Mountains for four days? They found him and it all turned out for the best, but there was one thing that, after hearing it, has stuck in my head and I can't let it go. This kid was conditioned by his parents to stay on the trail if he was to ever become separated or lost. He did that.

Unfortunately, the kid was also conditioned to believe that under NO circumstances of ANY kind should he talk to or even approach a non-uniformed stranger. The practical upshot of that latter advice was this: during his lengthy unintentional camping trip, this boy stayed on the trail -- BUT LEFT THE TRAIL TO HIDE IN THE WOODS WHENEVER ANYONE CAME BY AND STAYED HIDDEN UNTIL THEY PASSED. Apparently, he dodged ATV riders, folks on horseback and others more than once in order to follow the "stranger" edict. The quote from MSNBC was that he wasn't sure about those people searching for him, that they might be "scary people."

The cognitive dissonance in that kid must have been cataclysmic! "I'm out here with no food, water, shelter or means of communication -- I need help. Oh SHIT! Here come some STRANGERS! Mama said I better hide!" Why the planet of Hell didn't this kid's parents teach the kid that strangers are preferable to being abandoned to die of exposure, starvation, bear attack, etc.?!? It seemed to me that his ordeal would have been less than half as long had he just asked one of the ATV folks for a bleeding RIDE to the nearest phone!

:headbang:

All my mind can generate when I think about this is one giant "HUH?!?"

Something tells me Brennan Hawkins is not exactly playing with a full deck of cards to begin with. Most 11 year olds can figure out on their own what is logical and what is not logical given a situation like that. The only explanation for his actions is that he is, shall we say, "a few chromosones short of a lightbulb"

I know exactly what you mean, as that is virtually the reaction I had too. It's interesting that the words of a parent can actually overcome the necessities for self-preservation and common sense. I guess up to a certain age humans are trained to "trust the parental unit", and after a certain age it's "trust yourself".

Then again, you must consider the parent's perspective. Generally, it is NOT a good idea to talk to strangers at that age when one is by oneself. With all the perverts, rapists, molesters, violent criminals, etc. that are out there, it's just good common sense. I guess the kid couldn't distinguish between the various risks he had to weigh in his situation.

I'm just glad he's okay.

A stitch short of a tapestry?

Perhaps. This is Utah, after all. I mean, I was ticketed a few months back while driving through at 10pm doing 80(mph) in a 70 zone (which had been a 75 zone just a few miles ago in Wyoming) by a cop who summoned three other cruisers, including the drug-sniffing dog. When I asked why all the back-up was called, they confessed to me that they were "bored."

I'm not sure if the direct confirmation of my suspicions was worth the $147 ticket, but it's nice to know that the two jackrabbits, four spiders and seventeen ants that the Utah State Patrol were being served and protected on a night when, as I sat there for an hour, nobody else passed us. Not one.

Either way, you're right, I'm glad the boy is okay.

A stitch short of a tapestry?

Perhaps. This is Utah, after all. I mean, I was ticketed a few months back while driving through at 10pm doing 80(mph) in a 70 zone (which had been a 75 zone just a few miles ago in Wyoming) by a cop who summoned three other cruisers, including the drug-sniffing dog. When I asked why all the back-up was called, they confessed to me that they were "bored."

I'm not sure if the direct confirmation of my suspicions was worth the $147 ticket, but it's nice to know that the two jackrabbits, four spiders and seventeen ants that the Utah State Patrol were being served and protected on a night when, as I sat there for an hour, nobody else passed us. Not one.

Either way, you're right, I'm glad the boy is okay.

Keep in mind that small towns make a lot of their money by pulling over every one they possibly can.

As to the kid...I'm an Eagle Scout, and was in the Scouting program for about or 11 years (though technically I'm a lifelong member due to being Eagle Scout), and at that age, while I may not have been able to completely rough it on my own indefinitely, I think my skills at that point could've kept me going for a little while, so I'm not surprised the kid was alive. However, I certaintly would've disregarded any warning my parents had issued me about strangers in that case..I'd've realized that if I tried to dodge everyone, I'd die. Better to take your chances with a stranger, at that point, I'd think. The parents should've told the child when it was alright to turn to a stranger for help.

Also, if I were that kid, I'd be pissed. He still has years left of learning survival skills, knot tying, volunteering and an Eagle Project before he's allowed to be an Eagle Scout. Personally, I think the kid should at least get a promotion or two...lol.

A stitch short of a tapestry?

Perhaps. This is Utah, after all. I mean, I was ticketed a few months back while driving through at 10pm doing 80(mph) in a 70 zone (which had been a 75 zone just a few miles ago in Wyoming) by a cop who summoned three other cruisers, including the drug-sniffing dog. When I asked why all the back-up was called, they confessed to me that they were "bored."

I'm not sure if the direct confirmation of my suspicions was worth the $147 ticket, but it's nice to know that the two jackrabbits, four spiders and seventeen ants that the Utah State Patrol were being served and protected on a night when, as I sat there for an hour, nobody else passed us. Not one.

Either way, you're right, I'm glad the boy is okay.

Meh, the only place worse than Wyoming is Utah. In Wyoming, there is Void, in Utah, there is Void and Mormons. Actually I'm being unfair to both places. What few people I met in Wyoming were very nice, while most Mormons I met were very nice and fairly cultured & educated (but it was SPOOKY being in a place where everyone else but me was a Mormon). I was very happy when I heard the boy was alright, but very perplexed by his actions. By age 11, I knew that hiking AWAY from the campsite would be a very bad idea in the first place. Maybe the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this case? I wonder about the parents mental capacities if they raised the boy with such a black & white mindset. If they'd told him up was now down, would he have beleived them so thoroughly then too? I think the answer would be yes.

--snip--
Also, if I were that kid, I'd be pissed. He still has years left of learning survival skills, knot tying, volunteering and an Eagle Project before he's allowed to be an Eagle Scout. Personally, I think the kid should at least get a promotion or two...lol.

Very good point! He should get the "Honor Thy Mother And Father To Ridiculous Extremes" merit badge and a "field promotion" to full-on boy scout (most 11-year-olds are Cubs or Webelos...*shudder* I was one once...). If anyone gives him shit about it, he could say "HEY -- were YOU in the sticks on your own for four days? I didn't THINK so!"

Very good point! He should get the "Honor Thy Mother And Father To Ridiculous Extremes" merit badge and a "field promotion" to full-on boy scout (most 11-year-olds are Cubs or Webelos...*shudder* I was one once...). If anyone gives him shit about it, he could say "HEY -- were YOU in the sticks on your own for four days? I didn't THINK so!"

Precisely. Or at least let it count for his bloody Eagle Scout Project.

I'd've so failed at getting that merit badge. Hehe.

Yeah. That is brutal. I came close to getting lost up near Glacier national park when I was his age. My cousin and I were board with picking huckleberries (which are pretty tasty). So we got the bright idea to walk out and have them pick us up in the truck. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn at the T-intersection, and headed deeper into the foothills instead of back towards the highway. It turned out alright because they didn't finish up anywhere near as early as they planned, and after walking a while I was struck by the fact that the sun was in the wrong part of the sky for the direction we were supposed to be walking. I was horrified, because we'd been walking so long, that if they'd left when they were planning they'd drive expecting to pick us up, and they'd probably goto the highway before turning back. And with the way the foothills (mountains if you're from the east coast) were it could get dark quick, and that would have been a bad place to spend the night. I was pretty terrified of that just one more thing which might happen to kick us out into spending a night up there in just our windbreakers, no knife, no matches, and turn that close call into a big mistake. But I think I would have probably passed up help until nightfall, at which point I knew we would have been approaching screwed.

You also have to know that last year, at this very scout camp, a twelve year old Boy Scout disappeared and has not been found. While he may have run away, or perished due to unfortunate hiking accident, there is the possibility (since the body has never been found) that foul play was involved.

Under those circumstances, I can understand a parent warning a child to stay with the group, stay on the trail if they get lost, but NOT to approach strangers. (Personally, I would not have let my child go to the camp without myself or my significant other going to help chaperone under those circumstances.)

Unfortunately, people do get kidnapped, raped and killed -- and they don't need to be kids to have this happen to them. There was recently a report of a woman who got turned around in New York and wasn't sure where the commuter rail station was -- a friendly stranger who offered to walk her there instead dragged her into the woods and brutally raped her.

It's a sad commentary on our society that we do, in fact, need to teach kids to be wary of strangers.