Jacob's Alive!

Oct 19, 09:52 AM

Current Headlines: By Cassie Shaner, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Oct. 19--A Morgantown hiker was found alive and in good condition Thursday afternoon, and reunited with his family after spending four days without food or water in the Dolly Sods Wilderness area.

Jacob Allen, 18, of Grand Street, was found by a team of nine searchers at about 2:15 p.m., a mile from where search crews found his hat Monday, said Chris Stadelman, a spokesman for the search effort.

Jim Reneau, one of the nine searchers, said, "To the best of our knowledge, he was just hungry and thirsty and fatigued. It was a very emotional experience."

Rescuers fed Allen candy bars and peanut butter sandwiches, and tried to walk him out of the woods. When Allen became too tired, they carried him out on a litter.

Though rescue crews had expanded the search to a 10-mile area in the past two days, the hat was found near the the Boar's Nest Trail in the Randolph County section of Dolly Sods, where Allen was hiking with his parents, Jim and Karen Allen, when he wandered away Sunday afternoon.

Allen has been described by his family as severely autistic. Jacob Allen's 14-year-old brother, Micah Allen, told The Dominion Post on Monday that Jacob uses a Velcro picture system to communicate with family members.

Reneau's son, Jeremy, a 25-yearold physician's assistant, was the first person to spot Allen. The teen was lying on the ground, surrounded by laurel bushes. When Reneau called his name, Allen opened his eyes and rolled over to meet his rescuers.

"He was very quiet, he was nonverbal," Jeremy Reneau said. "But you could tell by his body language he was hungry."

Stadelman said it took almost two hours to get Allen out of the woods. He was reportedly taken to Davis Memorial Hospital, though a spokeswoman for Davis Memorial declined to comment.

"The family is all together," Stadelman said. "As soon as they heard the report he was alive and doing fairly well, they gathered in a prayer circle."

Stadelman said he spoke to one of Allen's pastors from Chestnut Ridge Church, who was at the hospital Thursday evening and reported on Jacob Allen's condition.

"He's doing very well," Stadelman said. "They are going to keep him overnight, basically just for observation. He's already had some Jell-O and some broth, and he is smiling."

Hundreds of volunteers and trained professionals had been combing the woods since Sunday, calling for "Jake" to come to them for candy bars, ice cream and other food.

Allen had no food or water with him, but Stadelman had said there were natural water sources in the steep, brush-covered search area.

Frank Vitale, of Morgantown, took a day off work at Centra Bank on Wednesday to search for Allen. A 16-year U.S. Army veteran and current West Virginia National Guard captain, Vitale said even he found the terrain challenging.

"The conditions made it very difficult for a search and rescue," Vitale said. "I'm more surprised that he was found than I was that he was in good condition."

About five members of Phi Sigma Pi, a co-ed honor fraternity at WVU, also looked for Allen on Wednesday.

"We're kind of bruised and battered from crawling through laurel," said Travis Smith, 30, a senior sociology major. "For him to spend days in that terrain, he's a very resilient man. He was probably better at hiking than some of us were."

Matt Cooper is a special-education teacher at Morgantown High School, where students helped collect about $1,500 in donations for the search effort. The money was to be delivered to the River Valley Regional chapter of the American Red Cross today.

Though Cooper was never one of Jacob's teachers at MHS, he participated in the search Wednesday.

"There were a lot of places he could be, so everyone was still upbeat, still optimistic and hopeful," he said.

Based on weather reports, Allen was rescued just in time. AccuWeather meteorologist Frank Strait said showers were possible in the search area Thursday night, to be followed by severe thunderstorms and possibly hail today.

Overnight temperatures dropped to as low as 38 degrees on the nights Allen was missing, but the area remained dry. He was wearing hiking boots, a long-sleeved Tshirt, a wind jacket and wind pants. Before Allen was located, Stadelman said Thursday was a critical day in the search, as the imminent rain would increase Allen's likelihood of hypothermia. Lauren Byrer, communications director for Chestnut Ridge Church, said she was thankful for all the volunteers who helped search for Allen and all the prayers that contributed to his safe rescue. The Allen family attend Chestnut Ridge Church, where a prayer vigil was held Tuesday.

"We can't wait to see them again," Byrer said. "We can't wait to get everybody back in Morgantown and just celebrate."

She said no specific celebration plans have been made, but the entire community will be notified and invited to attend. She was not certain when family members might return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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