Wet teen missing in park for 14 hours
A 15-year-old with nonverbal autism got lost on a family hike and spurred a search and rescue mission that almost involved four counties and 100 people.
Danny Barrett was walking with his mother, father and twin brother – who also has autism – in Uvas Canyon Canyon Park east of Morgan Hill when he separated from them, about 4 p.m. Saturday. The family had gone swimming in a creek and they were headed back to the nearby parking lot. Barrett was ahead of the family and, when he dropped out of sight, his parents assumed that he would meet them at their car. However, when they got to the car, he was not there.
After 10 minutes of unsuccessfully searching, his parents called 911 and sheriff’s deputies responded. More than 20 people searched for almost eight hours, before they called off the search due to darkness. The situation was made dire because Barrett was wearing damp clothing that made him vulnerable to hypothermia as the nighttime low temperatures in the 50s set in. In addition, the search was difficult because Barrett – being nonverbal – would not respond to rescue workers.
The family and rescue workers got a stroke of luck, about 8 a.m. Sunday. The fiance of a rescue worker, who lives out on Croy Road, saw a boy matching Barrett’s description crossing her lawn and called police. A nearby ranger responded, recognized the boy and took him to a local hospital. Barrett was treated for minor bruises and exposure, then reunited with his family.
