ROOSEVELT -- Nine-year-old Chris Moat of Layton is one tough kid. That was the assessment of one of the search-and-rescue members who came across the youngster who had wandered in the Pleasant Valley area south of Myton for about 17 hours after he became separated from his dad and uncle about 5:30 p.m. Saturday while rabbit hunting.
To keep warm, Moat spent the night walking in temperatures that plunged to two degrees above zero. He was dressed in a warm coat with a hood but didn't have gloves. He wore insulated rubber snow boots on his feet.When search-and-rescue workers Kent Brown and Ken Bird found the youngster walking on the Sand Wash boat ramp road south of Pleasant Valley about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, he was somewhat disoriented and confused and a long way from where he was last seen, said Brown, who serves as the Duchesne Squadron leader. Brown said he and Bird just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
"We were just on our way back from the main road, getting ready to regroup and found him walking along the road . . . it was a long way from the search area."
Moat was reunited with his very relieved family and taken to the Uintah Basin Medical Center for treatment of hypothermia. He was not hospitalized.
"He apparently walked around most of the night, going back and forth. That kid was pretty tough, he was smart though, and he finally found a main road and stayed on it" said Brown.
The youngster lost sight of his dad, Chris, and an uncle from Duchesne, as darkness descended a little earlier than usual on Saturday night. The family searched for him but called for assistance as the hours passed with no luck. The terrain in the area consists of sage brush, rolling hills and washes and is close to the tree line. Thirty-five search-and-rescue workers and seven search dogs responded to the 1 a.m. call for help, said Brown. Volunteers who heard about the missing child also offered assistance by providing meals for searchers Sunday morning, said Brown. An airplane joined in the search early Sunday morning, and a Boy Scout group was on its way to scene when Moat was found.
"We had tremendous response from all over," said Brown. "It makes you feel good when you can do something like that and have it turn out good."