Search, hope for Portland boy all but over
The Oregonian
Portland, Oregon
October 21, 2006
By MATTHEW PREUSCH
Ground crews give up the hunt for Samuel Boehlke, 8, after a week of desperate efforts
CRATER LAKE — As workers took down tents and packed up gear at a base camp on the north rim of Crater Lake, Pete Reinhardt leaned over the hood of a Dodge SUV and spread out a large map.
On it were criss-crossed grids of multi-colored lines drawn over nearby woods and cliffs, signifying areas where nearly 200 people searched for 8-year-old Samuel Boehlke of Portland, who vanished in Crater Lake National Park a week ago today.
“I just can’t imagine where this kid disappeared to,” said Reinhardt, operations supervisor for the search, shaking his head.
Friday was the last day of regular ground patrols in the area where Sammy went missing while visiting the national park with his father, Ken Boehlke.
Though a helicopter will still scan the area in good weather, the National Park Service’s hunt for Sammy is effectively over, leaving only lingering uncertainty for the family and disappointment among the searchers.
“Once the snow comes, there’s not much more we can do,” Reinhardt said. Winter usually arrives at the lake, elevation 6,200 feet, in November, bringing an average of 45 feet of snow.
He’s at a loss to explain how the boy could have slipped detection during the 61/2 days that crews from Oregon, Washington and California converged at Crater Lake in one of the largest searches in the park’s 104-year history.
“We utilized almost all possible modes of search,” Reinhardt said. “We had foot traffic, we had horseback riding, we had aerial support, we had boats, we had technical climbers.”
Searchers were hampered by foul weather, facing rain Sunday, then snow Monday in the 50-square-mile-search area in the northeast part of the park.
Weather was intermittently overcast and rainy the remainder of the week, with nighttime temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s. The sun finally came out Friday at the park, bringing temperatures in the 60s.
But there was little hope that Sammy could have survived after so many days of exposure to the elements.
“We are all disappointed that our intensive search efforts over the past six days have not located Samuel,” said Chief Ranger Dave Brennan. “Our sympathies go out to Samuel’s family.”
Also complicating the search was the boy’s low-level autism. Sammy was afraid of loud noises, according to his family, so searchers didn’t use air horns, whistles or other standard search tools.
He also was fond of hide-and-seek games, and searchers believe he ran away from his father after the pair stopped at a pullout near Cleetwood Cove because he wanted to play a game. The boy also liked small spaces, so searchers focused on places such as caves and rock overhangs.
His family remained out of the public eye Friday, though members have made repeated trips to the base camp to confer with searchers from where they’ve been staying at the park.
But they released a statement saying Sammy likes Legos, pirates, dragons, root beer and corn dogs. They also thanked searchers “for their incredible conduct, kindness and superb efforts on behalf of our families. We appreciate the sacrifice their families are making for them to be here.” The family also encouraged others to learn more about autism.
Experts recommend that kids and their parents carry whistles whenever they go into the woods to help locate each other, though that probably wouldn’t have helped in Sammy’s case, given the boy’s aversion to loud noises.
Parents should also teach their kids to find a sheltered place and wait for rescue if they become lost, said Mac Brock, spokesman for the park.
“I tell my kids to stay put, hug a tree and blow their whistles,” said Brock, who has two children, including an 8-year-old-son.
The inconclusive search drew some parallels to the hunt in October 1991 for Glen Mackie, 33, of Brea, Calif., whose car was found abandoned in the park’s Rim Village parking area.
“And he was never found,” Brock said.
Matthew Preusch: 541-382-2006; preusch@bendbroadband.com
Other pages in this section
- Crater Lake Symposium Convenes Researchers – Fall/Winter 2006
- Brian Smith plans to answer call of world’s highest peak – December 31, 2006
- Survey says: Snow level ‘nearly normal’ – December 29, 2006
- Fatal crash closes Highway 97 – December 29, 2006
- Under proposal, Crater Lake entry fees would double – December 22, 2006
- Oregon Neutral In Shift From National Parks – December 15, 2006
- Big fee hikes at national parks are a bit too big – December 21, 2006
- Proposal would increase Crater Lake fees – December 18, 2006
- America’s Largest Bald Eagle Festival is President’s Day Weekend 2007 in the Klamath Basin of South Central Oregon – December 19, 2006
- Since You Asked: how much snow does Crater Lake get each winter? – December 14, 2006
- Volunteers become Park Service’s public face – November 28, 2006
- Pacific Crest Trail journey is a repeat performance – November 28, 2006
- Remembering a little boy lost – November 23, 2006
- Memorial Service Scheduled for Boy, 8, Lost at Crater Lake – November 18, 2006
- See old-growth, National Creek Falls on short trail – November 17, 2006
- Pine Beetles Can Set Stage for Disastrous Forest Fires – November 6, 2006
- Mom hopes to use dogs to find son – October 25, 2006
- Search for boy winds down – October 21, 2006
- Ceremony honors missing 8-year-old – October 21, 2006
- Searchers scour woods in vain – October 19, 2006
- Crater Lake Highway Renamed – October 18, 2006
- ‘Frustrating’ search – October 18, 2006
- Boulders, brush and bravery, but no boy – October 18, 2006
- Missing boy faces snow, wind – October 17, 2006
- Searchers continue to look for Portland boy missing near Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Snow slows search for boy missing at Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Massive search underway for Portland boy missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Boy still missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Mount Scott rewards hikers with a peak experience – September 29, 2006
- ‘The Good Fire’ – September 25, 2006
- Block Island will be featured on ABC show – September 22, 2006
- Bybee Complex Fires – September 14, 2006
- Snow job at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon – September 7, 2006
- Trees of heaven – September 7, 2006
- WebCam now available to view Crater Lake fire – September 7, 2006
- Natural end sought for Crater Lake fire – September 06, 2006
- Bybee Fire Complex Fact Sheet – September 2, 2006
- Crater Lake science and learning center opens – August 28, 2006
- Scientist to lecture about pines threatened by rust – August 27, 2006
- Lightning-stoked burns still growing – August 27, 2006
- Grand Opening of Science and Learning Center – August 24, 2006
- Newest Puzzle Fire near Mt. Jefferson tops 4,100 Acres – August 22, 2006
- Roving the Floor of Crater Lake – August 21, 2006
- Weather makes firefighters work harder – August 20, 2006
- Found in the ashes – August 20, 2006
- Crater Lake due for odd visitor – August 18, 2006
- Army veteran finally gets to run – August 14, 2006
- Crater Lake hosts marathon – August 13, 2006
- ‘What you see is what you get’ – August 12, 2006
- Tourists watch fire left to burn at Crater Lake – August 7, 2006
- Terry Richard picks Oregon’s best mountain hikes – August 6, 2006
- Bybee fire use update – August 3, 2006
- Crater Lake will help clear brush – August 1, 2006
- John Carl Owings – August 1, 2006
- Finding their place in the sun – August 1, 2006
- Building improvements, relocation of the primary parking lot – July 28, 2006
- ‘Vets’ highway’ idea reaches impasse – July 26, 2006
- The essence of Oregon summer: visiting Crater Lake – July 23, 2006
- Bill would boost size of Upper Klamath Refuge – July 10, 2006
- History into stories – July, 2006
- Find haven of coolness along Red Blanket Creek – July 14, 2006
- U.S. considers closer watch on volcanoes – July 13, 2006
- Lack of cash strains national parks – June 24, 2006
- Volcano Man: New Superintendent Enjoys Craters of the Moon – June 23, 2006
- Can bicycling be Oregon’s Maine event? – June 16, 2006
- Annie Creek Restaurant set to open at Crater Lake – May 25, 2006
- Rouse to mark 50 years – April 23, 2006
- Gerald L. ‘Gary’ Hathaway – December 12, 2001
- Senator Boxer announces National Scenic Byway grants for northern California All-American Road – March 31, 2006
- Walking on Crater Lake – February 21, 2006
- Dispute swirls around geothermal project – January 14, 2006
- William Arthur ‘Bill’ Bloom – January 13, 2006
- Crater restaurant-gift shop nears completion – January 05, 2006
- Crater Lake: preserved in all its glory –