CONTACT:
Maj. Tim Acerno: (603) 271-3129
Jane Vachon: (603) 271-3211
October 17, 2003
Body of Missing Child Found
CONCORD, N.H. -- The search for 10-year-old Patric "J.J." McCarthy, of Bourne, Massachusetts, ended on a somber note today when his body was discovered in the wilderness area near the Village at Loon Condominiums in Lincoln, New Hampshire. The boy had been missing since the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 13, when he was last seen playing in a wooded area near the condominiums. The boy's body was found by an advance rapid-response search-and-rescue team made up of New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers and volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue. An investigation continues as to the details of the cause of the boy's death.
The boy's body was located approximately 2 1/4 miles from where he was last seen. The body was found in the Clear Brook drainage, away from the brook, in extremely thick cover.
"We are deeply saddened that the search ended in this way," said Col. Jeffrey Gray, Chief of Fish and Game Law Enforcement. "Our hearts go out to Patric's family and his community."
The search effort, coordinated by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and New Hampshire State Police, involved dozens of search-and-rescue professionals and more than 500 volunteers combing the mountainous terrain behind the condominiums. The search continued 24 hours a day, with several specially equipped teams searching throughout the nighttime hours. Search-and-rescue personnel from all across New England pitched in on the effort.
"I want to express my appreciation for the determined efforts of the corps of volunteers that helped in the effort to find Patric," said Gray. "Never before has the state had this many searchers looking for a lost child. The local community has been exceptionally generous and helpful in providing food and lodging for the hundreds of search volunteers that came to help out."
In all, more than 500 volunteer searchers each day
assisted dozens of rescue professionals in the effort. A variety of fast-response
teams, coordinated ground-search teams, three canine units, the New Hampshire
National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter and personnel from the New Hampshire,
Vermont and Massachusetts National Guard were involved in the search.
In addition to a large number of volunteers, participants included representatives
from New Hampshire Fish and Game, the New Hampshire State Police, Army
National Guard, the U.S. Forest Service, five different New England Canine
Search and Rescue teams and three State Police canine units, Androscoggin
Valley Search and Rescue, the Upper Valley Rescue Squad, Mountain Rescue
Service, Lincoln Police and Fire Departments, Woodstock Fire Department
and the Seacoast Response Team. Many Massachusetts organizations joined
in the effort as well, including a Massachusetts Mounted Search Unit,
Central Massachusetts Search and Rescue Team, Berkshire Mountain Search
and Rescue, Massachusetts State Police and police and fire department
personnel from Bourne.
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