for someone who cares
least he is safe
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_re_us/missing_man
MILWAUKEE - An autistic man who disappeared a week ago from a camp for the disabled and who relies on medication after a kidney transplant was found alive in the woods Sunday, authorities said.
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Keith Kennedy, 25, of Shoreview, Minn., was found about 7 p.m., weakened but safe. He was flown to the University of Minnesota hospital in the Twin Cities.
"He was dehydrated, his body temperature was a little low, lots of bug bites, of course," said Cindi Throngard, a volunteer who staffed phone lines set up to coordinate the search. "I can tell you, we're totally elated right now. We're just starting to breathe again."
Searchers feared Kennedy might suffer a medical emergency without the anti-rejection drugs he has taken since his transplant in 1995. He can only speak four words, and searchers had feared he might not respond if they called out to him.
Kennedy was conscious and alert when a St. Paul firefighter found him about a mile from the camp, in a wooded area inaccessible by vehicles, Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland said. Kennedy was laying next to a creek bed on swampy ground, his body covered in ticks and mosquito bites.
Based on evidence of matted grass in the area, it appeared Kennedy had been there for two or three days, Roland said. Searchers had passed by the area at least twice but visibility was severely hampered by dense growth of tall grass, thistles and briars.
"That's some very, very tough terrain," Roland said. "We'll probably never know how he survived but I'll tell you, this Keith Kennedy is one tough kid."
Kennedy was fortunate that weather conditions were comfortable, Throngard said. With the exception of two brief rain showers, temperatures were between 75 and 80 degrees all week.
Kennedy vanished June 15 from the Trade Lake Camp in Grantsburg, where he was one of 13 campers who arrived for the week. The campers had just been given their nighttime snacks and were retiring for the evening when Kennedy disappeared, Throngard said.
Staffers speculate that Kennedy, who had a well-known fondness for popcorn, sneaked back to the cafeteria to get more, and then failed to return to his cabin because he was afraid of getting in trouble, Throngard said.
Kennedy had stayed at the camp two other years and never did anything to make staffers think he might wander away, Throngard said.
Hundreds of volunteers had helped scour at least 14 square miles, a search that included helicopters and boaters. As the days passed, searchers never gave up hope, Throngard said.
"The volunteers that came everyday came with the attitude that today's going to be the day," she said. "His parents were here every day. They brought that same attitude and it was just contagious."
