On Friday, June 10, 2022 we had a lot of friends come help us pack up our 26 foot moving van and clean out our home. We drove to NC, arriving on Sunday the 12. Jeremy drove Sarah in the little brown car, Richard drove the moving van, and I drove the Tahoe with Ben, Sam, and Lucky, hauling the Acura on a trailer. On Tuesday the 14th, we drove Ben to the church where he met other young men for the first time and headed off to scout camp at Appletree.
Friday morning I drove Jeremy to the King post office to get his Passport papers finished for his mission. Right when we were pulling into the parking lot I got a phone call from someone in the YM organization telling me that they had just realized that Ben had been lost in the woods overnight without anyone realizing it, and that search and rescue had just been notified. Ben's cousin Joshua was in the Pilot Mountain Ward campsite at the same time as our local Bethania ward was in a close by campsite. Each of the wards thought Ben was sleeping over with the other ward and no one realized he was gone until Friday morning when Ben didn't show up for breakfast.
I cannot describe the immediate sense of dread and sorrow that descended on me. The woods of North Carolina are dense, rugged, and full of bugs and snakes. Ben didn't know anyone yet. I didn't know anyone to call in the ward or stake. I was completely at the mercy of the Lord and I knew Ben was as well. I started crying. I called Richard to tell him. I sent out a group text to my family briefly explaining the situation and asking for prayers. I had sent Jeremy inside the post office to get started while I answered the phone call, so I went into the post office. He was in the middle of talking with someone so I pulled myself together and decided getting Jeremy finished with his appointment was going to happen while I planned what to do once we got home. While waiting in the post office I kept bursting into quiet tears, wondering how scared Ben was and if he was hurt or dehydrated. I wondered how lonely he felt and how bad he would feel when he found out no one noticed him missing until the next day. Finally, Jeremy's papers were filled out and his picture taken and we started driving home. My mom called and asked how she could help. Should she fly out? Hire a helicopter to scan the woods? My anxiety level rose and I started crying so much that I had to have Jeremy talk while I drove. He said I would call back when we were home.
Well, right when we pulled into the Air BNB I got another phone call. This time it was to tell me that Ben had been found, that he was safe, and that a good Samaritan couple had brought him back to camp. The relief I felt was intense and I started praying in gratitude. I never got a chance to talk with Ben. The leaders told me he felt fine and wanted to stay at camp to go white water rafting right then and stay until it was over the next morning. I was bit flabbergasted, I didn't know what to say except that it was okay. After this horrible ordeal Ben went through I wanted to drive there and hug him and tell him I love him and bring him home where I knew he would be safe. But I had to trust Ben and his leaders. It was a surreal day, especially when I took Sam and Sarah to the swimming pool, like nothing bad had happened. I kept thinking about Ben and what his experience was and how he was feeling. But I had no way of knowing. I had to take care of my two other kids who were bored to death in the Air BNB and excited to swim since they knew their brother was safe. It was so many emotions in such a short time period!
I am sure the Lord only let us know Ben was missing for one hour to prevent our whole family from flying in and driving from different states and spreading out all over the mountain to look for him. How many more accidents could have occurred as we scrambled to find our lost son? In the dark, in bad weather, in unfamiliar and rough terrain? What a miracle that although Ben was lost for 13 or 14 hours, we only knew for 1 of them, while I was away from home, at the post office, anxiously engaged in getting Jeremy ready for his mission.
Ben told me he prayed, and felt inspired to keep going. And when he did he found people who could help him. I am eternally grateful that Ben had an answer to his prayer which ended up saving his life. I had a text message come from the man and his daughter who found Ben, which I would like to share. It is a powerful message to me of miracles in our lives. Ben has a great work to do and the Lord helped protect him and deliver him home safely.
Ms. Tolbert,
Thank you for your kind words. My daughter Sarah and I were so thankful that the Lord put us in a position to help Ben. The Bartram trail is very rarely used. In our days on the trail we didn’t see a single person except Ben. This made us realize how dire Ben’s situation would have been if we had not encountered him. Also, in 30+ years of backpacking I have never encountered an abandoned tent. But there was one in the only other campsite about 50 yards away. We were able to move it to our campsite so Ben could have shelter through the night. Divine providence. I believe Ben was in shock when we found him, but after we talked with him, fed him, and got him bedded down he became more peaceful. He was very respectful and thankful. I spoke with him about how to make good decisions if such a situation arose again. He also told us about your family. I trust your move to NC will be less eventful going forward. I’m sending this picture that we took upon our return to safety. The smiles are genuine. Again, we were happy to meet Ben. Give him our regards.
David and Sarah Darden
