The Latest: Missing boy reunited with family, survived partly on bugs and bark

A 13-year-old boy who got separated from his Boy Scout group during a hiking trip in the Wyoming wilderness survived partly on bugs and tree bark for the nearly 37 hours he was alone, officials said Monday.

Searchers found Garrett Hunter of Draper, Utah, in good health about 10:15 p.m. Sunday after happening to camp near him for the night and calling out his name, according to Sublette County sheriff’s Sgt. Travis Bingham.

Garrett told media after a helicopter ferried him to an airport that he worried about whether he would see his family again. When he was found, he said his first thoughts were “Hallelujah! I’m home free.”

You can view an interview with Garrett and his mother below.

The boy was brought out of the mountainous Bridger Wilderness on Monday morning after rough terrain and darkness forced him and his rescuers to camp overnight.

Garrett recounts his experience below.

Garrett became separated from other Boy Scouts and their leaders around 9:30 a.m. Saturday when he went off a trail to go to the bathroom, Bingham said. The group of about 20 boys and adults were on the way out from a weeklong, 50-mile backcountry hiking trip.

Garrett had a sleeping bag, a water filtration device, a little food and part of a tent. Not sure how long he might be lost, the boy ate ants and bark to conserve what little food he had.

“He didn’t like bark so much, but the bugs weren’t too bad,” Bingham said after interviewing Garrett Monday. “He had trouble starting a fire with the fire starters staying lit. He improvised, using bug spray with his lighter even though his mom told him not to and did get a fire that one night.”

Searchers, aided by dogs and a helicopter, scoured the rugged terrain Saturday afternoon and Sunday. The search was suspended about 7 p.m. Sunday, but one group of volunteers decided to camp near a lake that night.

When one of the volunteers yelled out Garrett’s name, they heard a reply: “Help,” Bingham said.

The boy was found on a ledge overlooking the lake where he had stopped to wait for rescuers, Bingham said. Authorities said he did everything right to survive, including staying in one place after initially hiking about a mile.

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4:45 p.m.

A 13-year-old Utah Boy Scout who survived partly on bugs and bark for nearly 37 hours in the Wyoming wilderness says he worried whether he would see his family again.

Garrett Hunter of Draper, Utah, says his first thoughts after he realized he had been found Sunday night were “Hallelujah! I’m home free.”

Sublette County sheriff’s Sgt. Travis Bingham says Garrett was found safe by volunteer searchers who happened to camp that night near where the boy had stopped to wait for rescuers.

The boy was flown out by helicopter Monday morning.

Bingham says Garrett became separated from his Boy Scout group Saturday morning when he went off the trail to go to the bathroom.

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11:30 a.m.

A 13-year-old Utah Boy Scout survived partly on bugs and bark during the nearly 37 hours he was lost in the western Wyoming wilderness.

Sublette County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Travis Bingham says Garrett Hunter was found safe at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday by volunteer searchers who happened to camp that night near where the boy had stopped to wait for rescuers.

Rough terrain and darkness forced the search group to camp for the night and wait until Monday morning to take the boy, who has autism, out of the mountainous Bridger Wilderness.

Bingham says the boy became separated from his Boy Scout group about 9:30 a.m. Saturday when he went off trail to go to the bathroom while they were on the way out from a weeklong backcountry hiking trip.

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UPDATE 7/30/18 9:30 a.m. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said Garrett Hunter has been found safe and in good health.

Volunteer searchers located Hunter around 10:15 p.m. Sunday night about one mile from his original camp in a drainage near Junction Lake.

As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, rescue operations are underway to bring him out of the mountains.

The sheriff’s office says he is located in tough terrain which makes landing the helicopter in that area difficult and will take time to get him out. Teams are in the area scouting the best landing zone for rescue.

Local News 8 and KIDK Eyewitness News 3 will post more information as it is released.

Update 7/29/18 11:00 p.m. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said Garrett Hunter has been found safe and in good health.

He was located around 10:15 p.m. Sunday night.

ORIGINAL: A search and rescue mission is underway for a missing 13-year-old Utah boy.

The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said Garrett Hunter, from Draper, Utah, was hiking with a group of about 20 boy scouts and their leaders when he got separated from the group.

Hunter was last seen around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning between the 1000 Island lakes area and Mary’s Lake when the group left 1000 Island lakes to head back to the Elkhart Trail.

The sheriff’s office said Hunter is 5’9″, 130 pounds and has light brown hair. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, gray pants and a blue pack.

The sheriff said Hunter does have Asperger’s and so he may not approach anyone for help.

Police got the call Saturday afternoon about a missing hiker in the Mary’s Lake area and immediately, a team of six TipTop Search and Rescue crew members, along with a helicopter from Sublette County, searched the area until dusk but didn’t find Hunter.

Search efforts resumed Sunday morning with 20 TipTop Search and Rescue members, Teton County Search and Rescue, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and WYK9 out of Jackon Hole all helping. About 38 volunteers from Utah have also come to help search.

Anyone who might have been in the area and may know something, call the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office at 307-367-4378.