Boy Scout found unharmed after four-day park search

A massive search concluded Tuesday when a Boy Scout missing since Saturday afternoon in the Basin Creek area of Doughton Park was found safely at around 11 a.m. Michael Auberry, 12, was only about 2,500 feet from where he was last seen at his troop's campsite. Doughton Park is located along the Blue Ridge Parkway in southern Alleghany and northern Wilkes counties.

Auberry, a member of Troop 230 from Greensboro, was located by Traphill Fire Department member and first responder Danny Gambill. Gambill spotted Auberry as he and two search dog handlers and their dog were walking up the Basin Creek Trail in the lower part of Doughton Park in Wilkes County.

After the tracking dog raised his head in a way indicating his nose detected something, Gambill said, he looked around and was able to see the red of what turned out to be Michael's jacket.

"I was able to see it because of the morning sunlight. If it had been that afternoon, there probably wouldn't have been the right kind of light," said Gambill.

Gambill said he looked more closely and saw a boy about 75 yards away who turned out to be Michael holding on to trees as he walked down a steep hillside towards Basin Creek.

Gambill and the two women with him, both members of the South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association, were with the dog on the other side of the creek.

The boy stopped and Gambill crossed the creek to reach him, asked if he was Michael Auberry and stated that he was a first responder from the Traphill Fire Department.

Gambill said he confirmed Michael's identity, quickly determined the boy Search area had rugged terrain

The search for 12-year-old Michael Auberry of Greensboro was held in the middle of one of northwest North Carolina's largest expanses of rugged forestland, including about 26,000 acres owned by the state or federal governments.

The search remained focused within Doughton Park, a 6,000-acre expanse of steep slopes, narrow ridgetops, big rock outcrops, rhododendron thickets and streams that tumble down the escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Basin Creek flows through the middle of Doughton Park, catching tributaries on its way to becoming part of the West Prong of Roaring River.

Parallel ridges come off the crest of the Blue Ridge and rapidly drop down to the Longbottom Road valley. Elevations within the park range from 1,425 to 3,800 feet above sea level.

Doughton Park is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and U.S. Park Service officials are in charge of the search. The park is bordered on the north by the Parkway.

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