On Friday, June 18, I got a call from Betty McCarl at 5:30 a.m. I felt my adrenaline kick in as she told me Nevada County had been looking for a lost 7-year-old and was asking for mutual aid. I told her I was available and would meet at the OES office at 8:00 a.m. At the OES office I met up with Ray Pledger, Randy Marx, and Richard Turner of the 4WD Team. (Nevada County had asked for 4WD's and a couple Management people.) After a brief stop at Safeway, we were on our way to Rucker Lake, off Highway 80 and 20, northeast of Emigrant Gap. On the way we were enticed to stop and play at many beautiful places, but we kept our focus on the task at hand.
Upon arrival at the Command Post, we were advised that Jordan Perry was last seen by his brothers in a canoe at 5:00 p.m. on Lake Rucker. They had been on the lake when Jordan left the canoe in shallow water and headed for shore. He was last seen heading north, presumably back to the campground. He was a feisty 7-year-old who had been lost at a parade once, and had walked the length of the parade 3 times until he found his parents. The search area was increasing as we spoke, but the weather had been mild the night before. I saw Hatch Graham, who was coordinating 8 dog teams. There were also many mounted units and numerous people on quad runners working the area.
Our teams were asked to travel Grouse Ridge Road and Road 18-10 to look for sign and act as containment. There had been no clues until about 1:00 p.m., when I heard chatter on the radio that made my ears perk up. There had been a possible sighting by a PG&E worker at the dam on the north side of Lake Spaulding, which was a couple miles to the south. The worker had called County Dispatch, saying he had seen a child "walking in circles, and it just didn't seem right." Deputies were sent to positively ID the child, and everyone was elated when the word came back that he was our subject. Other than being tired, hungry, and missing one shoe and sock, Jordan was in great shape. This was followed by an emotional reunion by Jordan's family, which you may have seen on local news stations.
At 2:00 p.m. we attended a debriefing of all the searchers and learned that Jordan's travels may have been in a natural "catch basin ". A search a couple months prior from the same campground had also ended at Lake Spaulding. A Nevada County Deputy admitted to us that years ago he had gone for an easy hike with his wife from Rucker Lake toward Blue Lake, and they had also ended up at Lake Spaulding.
We were well-thanked, fed a good lunch, and headed back home. All in all, a good search, and Ray found some uncharted area with beautiful scenery for future 4WD trips.