Dozens of training rescuers and rangers help reunite mom and son after Marin hiking scare
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A mother-son hike took a frightening turn in the Marin Headlands when a 10-year-old boy with autism wandered away on a trail above Rodeo Beach, but dozens of rescuers happened to be in the right place at the right time.
A mother in need of help approached Molly Williams and Marin County Search and Rescue just before 5 p.m. Saturday.
"They were on this trail, the hiking part of the coast trail and her son went ahead of her and she lost sight of him. And when she got to the top, she did not find him," Williams said.
Little did the mother know, Williams was one of 30 members of the Marin County Urban Search and Rescue on the trail that day. Suited in bright yellow, they were training in rope rescue operations.
"We practice rescuing people who might get stuck on a hillside," Williams said.
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The team notified the National Park Service. Park Rangers responded to talk to the mother and do some quick searches along the trail. The search and rescue volunteers were called upon to help search areas too.
"There's a labyrinth nearby, there's an alcove nearby. There's a battery at the top of the hill," Williams said.
The area has its share of hazards.
"There's obviously a lot of cliffs and water around so it's definitely an urgent situation where you want to find him," Williams said.
About an hour into the search, a National Park Service ranger on a dirt bike found the boy.
"It looks to us he got at least a mile, and several hundred feet or at least 100 feet of elevation gain," Williams said. "So, he was sort of up in the hill, so it was further than we expected."
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Williams says when the boy was found his mother was relieved he was OK, but he was hungry and thirsty.
"He was fine, he was happy to get a ride in the truck," Williams said.
National Park Service rangers offered ABC7 News this statement:
"Marin SAR and our U.S. Park Rangers worked together to locate the missing individual. We're grateful for their partnership and swift action."
"It's fortuitous we were all here," Willaims said. "It worked seamlessly."
