# Lost Utah Kid Was an Idiot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435 "2005-06-22T20:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Fortytwois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@Fortytwois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortytwois)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/121 "2005-06-24T00:47:06Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know if it is due to his premature and difficult birth (maybe a lack of oxygen at birth, I dunno), codling parents, or a combination of both. Probaly both…I see SO many kids with disabilties being sheltered by their parents. Like the guy who was one of my best friends the first semester of my senoir year. He had cerebal palsy, was a sweet guy, but INCREDBILY sheltered…almost like he was retarded. Whereas I have signifcient disabilties (multiple issues, hearing, developemental etc) and although I am kinda young for my age, I am incredibily independant. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/122 "2005-06-24T02:38:49Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > The worst part about sensationalized kidnappings is that a kid is far more likely to get lost, or even get kidnapped by a disgruntled family member/non-“stranger”. This is what overemphasis on “stranger danger” results in, I think. I think the same, and it was the reason I posted this comment… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/123 "2005-06-24T02:55:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The Sausage Creature: The head of a ward in our church is a Bishop. A Mormon Bishop is the equivalent of an Episcopal church’s Rector; the Mormon equivalent of an Episcopal Bishop is the Stake President; the Mormon equivalent of a Roman Catholic Cardinal is an Apostle (some would also include members of the Seventy); and the Mormon equivalent of a Pope is our church President. I’m confused now - how many Mormon Bishops in a gallon, again? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/124 "2005-06-24T02:57:57Z")
40 Apostles to a hogshead? ---
**Author:** ![Curate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Curate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/125 "2005-06-24T04:23:46Z")
We are the guardians of two of our nephews, one of whom is an 11 year old fetal alchohol syndrome child. When I heard the initial description of the lost boy’s behavior I said to myself, “That’s our Patrick.” He’s 11, but seriously into Spongebob and his batman costume. He’s mostly mainstreamed in school but can’t go on field trips without special supervision because he’s got no sense of the need to stay with the group. He’s not so much introverted as simply unconcerned about interacting with others and I can imagine that if he were lost in the wilderness he might not be inclined to make the job of those searching for him any easier. He’d also rather play a video game than eat. I don’t think he’d be more likely to head downhill than up either. The thing is, if your child is like this, you’d want the searchers to know that he might not be the standard kind of lost child. I’d certainly tell people who were searching for Patrick to play music from a video game or familiar cartoon. I don’t mean this in a sarcastic way – he’d really be more likely to respond to that than someone calling his name, I believe. We’ve met other families with similar children and some are quite unwilling to really acknowlege their kids’ differences. I don’t know if this was a contributing factor in the length of the search, but I suppose it might have been. Curate ---
**Author:** ![Fortytwois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@Fortytwois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortytwois)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/126 "2005-06-24T05:10:43Z")
> [@](#): > > one of whom is an 11 year old fetal alchohol syndrome child. When I heard the initial description of the lost boy’s behavior I said to myself, “That’s our Patrick.” He’s 11, but seriously into Spongebob and his batman costume. Sounds more like FAE (fetal alchohol effect) I thought most FAS kids were MR. Sides what’s wrong with being into Spongebob? I know college kids who are into him! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/127 "2005-06-24T11:00:39Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I think the same, and it was the reason I posted this comment… Well, I blame the media as well as the parents - sure, kids get taught “stranger danger” by their parents, but they hear the evening news too, and I’m sure they spread tales among themselves about kidnappings and other scary stuff. I was also just noting that Utah had a fairly recent, high profile kidnapping by a stranger as well as a disappearance at the camp a year prior, so there were actual (if statistically few) incidents to fuel this fear. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/128 "2005-06-24T11:56:30Z")
**laina\_f** , this is meant as constructive criticism. Whether you actually are that condescending or were just trying to stir things up, saying it makes people cringe. I’m guessing you have problems with social relationships and don’t always understand why. This is one of those times when you need to say, “maybe I am a condescending jerk, and now that it’s been pointed out to me, I’m going to stop doing it.” > [@Monty](#): > > Trunk, there’s actual evidence of Ms. Smart being kidnapped and repeatedly raped Evidence of kidnapping? Prints in the room? Gun point or knife point? Screen cut from the inside or the outside? There’s evidence of SOMETHING. Look, 14 year old girls run away. 14 year old girls get kidnapped. You know a lot of the facts of this case can be read either way and if you deny it, you’re just being obtuse. Reading them one way may be completely revolting to you. Fine. That’s good that most people don’t “go there”, but it doesn’t make it false. If “Stockholm Syndrome” is the only defense that people have why the girl stayed with him, or a torn screen is the only evidence that she was kidnapped, well, my jury is still out. Don’t throw the “fighting ignorance” line at ME, though, if you are unable to consider an alternate point of view. Diane, has time [told](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3123777&postcount=66) yet? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/129 "2005-06-24T13:37:37Z")
**Curate** -I agree. If this child has FAE/FAS or similiar–the rescuers should have been told. I’ll take a gander and say that maybe he’s undiagnosed? Some kids(and I am not speaking of FAE in particular here-don’t know much about it) that are poor to average in school and not so social when young are NOT tested, and may have hidden learning disabilities of one kind or another. I am not saying that this child has LD, but it is a possibility. Friends of mine unconsciously “covered” for their son all thru elementary school–it wasn’t until they moved and he went to middle school that they got a call from the school psychologist that D. needed to be tested. He was diagnosed with mild ADD, narcolepsy and something else I don’t recall at present. He is doing well now. I just wonder at this kid and his parents. And I also wonder when the hell the book is coming out. \ Remember when you had to be GOOD at writing to get a book published? ---
**Author:** ![Curate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Curate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/130 "2005-06-24T13:58:41Z")
Fortytwois and eleanorigby, you’ve made my point better than I did. What I was getting at was that a search for such a child would have been more productive, perhaps, if the difference in the concerned child’s behavior was understood from the beginning. I described our child as FAS because that was the preliminary diagnosis we received, but since his dad is still also involved in his life and is opposed to psychological counseling we haven’t been able to persue a more specific diagnosis. As far as Spongebob goes, it may be that I’m a bad judge – I’m more of a Bugs/Daffy guy myself. Curate ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/131 "2005-06-25T06:37:53Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Diane, has time [told](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3123777&postcount=66) yet? Well no shit. Look at the date of that post. Just as I said, time will tell and time obviously told us that they did not know one another. Your point? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/132 "2005-06-25T12:28:56Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t think people sometimes grasp how easy it is to get lost in the wilderness. It takes one wrong turn and wham, you’re totally disoriented. I can personally attest to that. This is the area of south-central BC I got lost in: [Poison Mountain](http://www.cayoosh.net/shulaps.html). I walked into the woods looking at tree moss, figured I’d only gone a few feet, turned around and couldn’t see the camp anymore. Panic set in and I took off running, probably the worst thing anyone can do. After a bit I sat down, took stock of my situation, and figured on what to do next. I was lost in one of the most remote locations in the lower half of British Columbia and as I knew my father and I were there alone it was unlikely there would be much luck in anyone finding me as no one other than him would be searching, I figured I’d have to do whatever it took to ‘un-lose’ myself. I decided to try and retrace my steps back to where I started running from, but that was a hopeless task as all the trees looked the same and I hadn’t been keeping track of my back trail in any case. I walked for a couple of hours until I found a game trail. As game trails usually come and go somewhere, I figured I’d find something at either end, plus I noticed that some of the tracks were from cattle. If there are cattle then there are people. So, as the choice was uphill, or downhill, I choose the easiest of the two. I eventually found my way down to a road about 4 hours later. As the area we were in was pretty remote there were few roads. I didn’t recognize this particular road and as I had been circling around to the right for the most part, I thought it was probably a continuation of the road we had been travelling on the day before where our camp was. I had also come down quite aways from where our campsite was and figured it had to be higher up from where I was, so up the road I went. After about an hour walk I came upon our camp where my Dad looked quite relieved to see me. He had been firing his rifle on a regular basis, but I hadn’t heard it once. I was lost for about 8 hours. Not long in the grand scheme of things, but given the location it could have been fatal… Oh, did I mention this was 30+ years ago and I was only 11 at the time, too? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/133 "2005-06-25T13:01:56Z")
BTW, Trunk, **exactly** what is _your_ expertise in the Smart kidnapping investigation? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/134 "2005-06-26T00:13:09Z")
Can I pipe up here and Pit the parents for even dragging that poor boy to a press conference? Poor thing was huddled on the ground, his shirt snugged over his knees, looking absolutely miserable. Maybe because I work in broadcasting, but I can’t understand the all-fire eagerness to hold a press conference at the drop of a hat. Let the sheriff or the rescue worker talk. I’m going to sit on the couch and hug my baby and watch Toy Story 2 with him while he sips hot chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/135 "2005-06-26T00:40:09Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Can I pipe up here and Pit the parents for even dragging that poor boy to a press conference? Poor thing was huddled on the ground, his shirt snugged over his knees, looking absolutely miserable. > > Maybe because I work in broadcasting, but I can’t understand the all-fire eagerness to hold a press conference at the drop of a hat. Let the sheriff or the rescue worker talk. I’m going to sit on the couch and hug my baby and watch Toy Story 2 with him while he sips hot chocolate. I agree with you, but it might not have been quite as bad as you think. I did not see the press conference, but I saw a photo in the paper of the kid huddled on the ground with his shirt hugged over his knees, and the caption said that he was demonstrating how he kept warm while he was lost. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/136 "2005-06-26T14:22:05Z")
I did see a part of the press conference. The kid’s on the ground near the microphone while his folks blather on and on. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/137 "2005-06-26T14:48:13Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I did see a part of the press conference. The kid’s on the ground near the microphone while his folks blather on and on. I watched the entire press conference. The kid demonstrated, by squating on the ground and pulling his shirt over his knees, how he kept warm at night. He stayed sitting on the grass while his parents were at the microphone thanking the rescuers. My local paper shows a photo of him sitting on the ground with other kids. He certainly didn’t look like he was cowering away or feeling uncomfortable from the attention. Is there nothing this family does that won’t be twisted into something evil? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/138 "2005-06-26T14:50:51Z")
I stand corrected, then, on how the boy was, but I still wouldn’t go in front of cameras with my newly rescued son. I’d be home with him, taking care of him, and letting the rescuers talk. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/139 "2005-06-27T00:12:45Z")
[Cogent query #2 for you, Trunk.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=322843) I say #2 because you’ve yet to answer my query regarding your expertise. I also put it in another thread to move the hijack you’ve started out of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435/140 "2005-06-27T09:26:32Z")
Former friends of my family have twin girls of whom they are _extremely_ protective. It’s been a few years since I’ve spoken to them ☹ , so please allow for my information and opinions being a bit out of date. If I were still in touch with them, their mother would probably furious with me for even mentioning their existence on a message board, lest they be kidnapped. Their mother’s afraid they’ll be kidnapped or stolen and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that fear bled over into the girls. One of the things kids are taught these days, from what I come across in the media, is to be wary of someone you know who knows your name and calls you by it. If the boy was afraid of being kidnapped or stolen, I can see strangers calling his name adding to his fear. According to what I’ve read, the little boy was coming back from a climbing wall with his assigned buddy, the scoutmaster’s son. The scoutmaster’s son ran on ahead when there was 1/4 mile to go, thinking the boy who got lost would be right behind him. Instead, the kid somehow got turned around. I do feel sorry for the kid. CJ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-utah-kid-was-an-idiot/309435.md?page=8)