The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 13, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" From page 1 "When we saw the knife, Steven got scared and wanted to leave, so we followed a trail (one of the other children) said led back to the fort," said than. That wasn't the case, and the two quickly became lost in the woods. At one point, said Ethan, his friend spotted a silo he recognized and the two friends, along with Steven's dog Elmo, started walking towards it. This path, however, led them into a swampy area, and things just went from bad to worse. At one point, Ethan became entangled in some trees, and Steven ventured off on his own in search of help. Soaking wet, Steven would later emerge onto Durham Road 23, where he was picked up by a passing motorist and driven home. By this time the two boys' parents had been searching for them, and it was this unidentified motorist who told Lori to call the police for assis- tance. "I was being an optimistic parent and felt he would stroll out of the woods at any time," Lori said. "(The motorist) insisted that we call the police." The Beatties are still trying to track down the unidentified man. Lori noted that he called the Murray residence throughout the evening for updates on the search. "He was very instrumental in Ethan's rescue," Mrs. Beattie added. "Ethan was within minutes of a different scenario that night." As police were being called in, Ethan managed to free himself and tried to find his own way out of the swamp, but was unable to do so. At one point he fell asleep on one of the clumps of earth that dot the swamp, but it began to sink. Though he hasn't taken a survival course, the youngster says being a Cub Scout helped him cope with his situation. He climbed trees to search for familiar landmarks and, at one point, tried to build a platform to keep himself out of the water. All the while, Elmo stayed by his side, huddling tight to keep Ethan warm and licking his face in an attempt to keep him awake and alert. "I can't understand why the dog didn't go with Steven," Lori said. "Maybe he knew that Ethan needed him more that night." She said that the fact that the dog remained with Ethan helped sustain the boy during his terri- fying ordeal. "I'm sure his companionship gave (Ethan) the strength to keep it together," Lori said. Police canine units, firefighters, a search and rescue group and volunteers all took part in the search for Ethan. An Ontario Provincial Police helicopter also flew search patterns over the area in an attempt to locate the youngster. "The helicopter flew right overhead around sup- per time," Ethan said. He added that Elmo also barked as the police canine units passed nearby, but the searchers were unable to hear. Elmo also played a hand in the eventual rescue. A group of Scugog firefighters were using a small boat to search for the youngster. He was located after one of men spotted the reflection of their searchlight in the dog's eyes. While Ethan says he doesn't remember the res- cue, or his ambulance ride to Lakeridge Health in Uxbridge, he was later told that Elmo remained by his side until the end. "He protected me," the youngster said. By the time Ethan was rescued -- around 10:40 p.m -- Lori had returned to the family's Sideroad 17 home. "After a few hours, it got to be too much," she said. It was from there that she heard a commotion and saw the lights as her son was brought to shore and placed in a waiting ambulance. "That was pretty incredible," she said. "I don't think I'll ever forget that." Ethan took last week off from school, though he visited his worried Grade 4 classmates later in the Hundreds joined search for boy Response leaves mother o RIK DAVIE FOR THE PORT PERRY STAR RESCUE WORKERS from police, iire and ambu- lance services descended upon the area the night of April 5 when nine-year-old Ethan Beattie (right) went missing in a bog. Above, the boy is rushed to an ambulance after being found in the darkness and brought to shore by Scugog firefighters. Below, parents Lori and Allister stand a lonely vigil as the search goes on. Ethan's fine now. week. He was set to return to class on Monday, nursing a cold and a few bruis- es and scratches. Last night, he planned to visit with the Scugog firefight- ers who rescued him. And he's already thanked Elmo, who remained in the swamp until being coaxed out by his owners Wednesday evening. "I gave him a big bag of bones and pig ears, though he's fin- ished them already," Ethan said. Now, a week later, = Lori says she still can't get over the amount of sup- port the family received so quickly. "We've only been here for three and a half years and I'm very proud of our community," she said, noting that she was told at one point last week that as many as 500 people had turned out to help with the search. "It was really great, all the neighbours pulling together." f Ethan feeling 'very proud of our community' JEFF BOWER FOR THE PORT PERRY STAR - Ee ee ee LL) SEER GRAS 0% A nn a SO con a a a-- SD ol a an Wn a aa. LA _AP---------- AD IT 2 A SAO. MO