WASHINGTON LAKE, Summit County — Searchers found a 3-year-old Salt Lake City boy alive Tuesday after he had been lost for almost an entire day in rugged mountain wilderness.
"We're just glad he's back," said a grateful Naomi Myrup of her son, Benjamin. "This is my baby, and he's back."
Other than a few scratches on his face, a shoe that had fallen off and being hungry, Benjamin was "in good condition," his rescuers said. He had been spotted at about 4:45 p.m. near the Provo River Falls, which one rescuer said put the boy about three-quarters of a mile from his campsite near Haystack Lake.
"Tears of joy is what I had," Mathew Myrup said when he heard his son had been found by a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter.
Crews in the helicopter alerted searchers on the ground, who went to Benjamin's location. Grant Kohler, of the Wasatch County Search and Rescue team, said the boy was crouched between two logs and didn't seem scared when he was found.
"Nobody stopped until they found him," Naomi Myrup said. "I can't tell you how grateful a mother can be to have her baby back."
Benjamin was playing with several other children near his family's campsite when he became separated from the group at about 8:30 a.m., just before breakfast, his mother said.
"It just goes to show you it can happen very quickly," said Sheriff Dave Edmunds.
Benjamin's mother and a friend took turns looking for the boy when Naomi decided to drive about 26 miles out of the canyon and down state Route 150 for help. The boy's father was at work but drove to the search area and joined in.
Searchers came from all over and included Kevin Bardsley, whose own young son, Garrett, 12, went missing in the Uinta Mountains in 2004 and never was found. Bardsley had helped organize three search groups and was about to send one out when he got the call over his radio that Benjamin had been found.
"That's awesome — that's great," Bardsley said into his radio. A few moments later he said, "There's nothing worse than wondering where your child is."
An emotional Bardsley had last week been looking for Brigham Young University student Camille Cleverley, whose body was found Sunday near Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon.
He said his own son is in a peaceful place now, and he isn't sure that he would like to someday find Garrett's remains. "I don't know if I want to bring him off the mountain," he said.
Just outside of Kamas on S.R. 150, known as the Mirror Lake Highway, is the Samak Store where store worker Stacy Mallen was Tuesday morning when Benjamin Myrup's mother came in to use the phone.
"She was in shock — she was bawling," Mallen said.
There were early reports that Naomi's friend was also missing, but that was not the case, officials said.
Marie Drelles, of Pittsburgh, and her family were sightseeing near Mirror Lake when their van was stopped by law enforcement officials asking "apologetically" to search their vehicle. "They were checking every car that came through," Drelles said.
It's estimated there were more than 100 searchers looking for Benjamin throughout the day. Searchers included Shane Evertsen, a CPA and father of six from Murray who was having a "bad day" when he heard about Benjamin. He loaded his chocolate Labrador Cocoa and his GPS system into his car and joined the search.
"Today was the most important day," Evertsen said about why he drove right up to the search area.
Paul Probst, who is retired, a volunteer firefighter in Heber and grandfather of 12, said he simply had the time. "Anybody who has kids can relate to that," he said about what Benjamin's parents might have been going through.
Naomi said she still plans to camp with her children, but that she will emphasize the buddy system more on future outings. "He'll have a whistle," she said.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com