They shared a sweatshirt to keep warm
Sep 30, 2008 - 11:39 AM
By Jeff Mitchell
CLARINGTON -- Two boys shared a sweatshirt for warmth and kept moving as they endured a cool, wet night lost in the dense bush of the Ganaraska Forest.
The Bowmanville boys, aged 12 and 13, eventually found Carscadden Road and made their way to a farmhouse east of Kirby, several kilometres from the site of a police command post. They were reunited with their distraught parents shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday.
"They walked a long way," Durham police Staff-Sergeant Randy Henning said from the command post at the entrance of a pit on Boundary Road near Hwy. 115.
"You can go into the bush here a foot and get lost."
The boys spent the night in an area marked by thick bush, open fields and winding back roads. The area is sparsely populated, with great distances between houses.
Police were alerted Monday evening after the boys, who were walking with the parents of one of the children, went into the woods in pursuit of a dog that had run off. The dog eventually emerged from the bush but the boys lost their way.
Police converged on the area at 7 p.m. and began an intensive search that involved officers on foot and all-terrain vehicles, as well as canine teams, Staff-Sgt. Henning said. A helicopter from neighbouring York Region was also called in to help with the search.
Some cops who'd started shifts at 7 a.m. Monday joined the effort and remained on scene overnight, he said.
"When it's kids involved we pull out all the stops," Staff-Sgt. Henning said.
One of the kids was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, while the other wore jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. As the gloomy night grew longer the boys huddled together for warmth, said family friend Ian Jamieson, who spoke to reporters on behalf of the distraught parents.
"They had a hoodie," he said. "They each put an arm in it and tried to stay warm."
The boys could hear the police helicopter overhead but were unable to attract the attention of officers scouring the dense brush, Mr. Jamieson said.
He said the boys' parents spent an agonizing night on scene as the search continued and were overcome when news of their discovery arrived.
"The feeling is very emotional right now, but they're very happy," said a weary-looking Mr. Jamieson, his eyes red-rimmed and on the verge of tears.
"I'm feeling pretty emotional right now, too."
Staff-Sergeant Henning said the boys got themselves out of a jam by keeping their heads and working together.
"They did the right thing," he said.
"They found the road and they kept walking."
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