DENVER – A 14-year-old boy from Berthoud is "okay" after he wandered away from his group while camping in the remote Rawah Wilderness in northwest Larimer County.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office led the search for 14-year-old Spencer Hallman along with several other teams, including the Civil Air Patrol and dog teams.
The boy was last seen around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday near the group’s campsite about six miles northwest of the West Branch Trailhead, which is about 5 miles up County Road 103 from Highway 14 in the Cameron Peak area.
The sheriff’s office said the group’s leader sent an SOS signal around 9 p.m. Wednesday, and the GPS company contacted Larimer County. They sent the signal after looking for the boy for several hours and not finding him.
UCHealth LifeLine searched overnight with thermal imaging and night vision but did not find the boy, the sheriff’s office said.
The search teams started hiking into the area Thursday morning before sunrise.
Around 1:53 p.m., searchers found Hallman, tired and dehydrated, but otherwise safe, the sheriff's office said. He was found off the trail, roughly five miles from the West Branch Trailhead.
The teen was escorted out of the wilderness area on horseback by the Larimer County Sheriff's Office Posse.
