By: Walter A. Bell

advertisement

October 20, 2006

Like many fathers and sons, Kenneth and Samuel Boehlke enjoyed spending part of their time together exploring the outdoors. Kenneth Boehlke decided to take his 8-year-old son Sammie for an outing in Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. The doting father thought it would be a welcomed change from their daily routines at home in Portland. Although he displayed a mild form of undiagnosed autistic behavior, camping was one of Sammie's favorite things.

Saturday afternoon, October 14^th, Ken and Sammie Boehlke left Diamond Lake campsite to go hiking near Crater Lake, just east of Cleetwood Cove trailhead parking lot, according to published reports. Heavy clouds had formed and snow was beginning to fall. The temperature was also steadily dropping. Ken and Sammie were climbing a rock embankment and the excited boy scurried ahead of his father. Suddenly, Sammie disappeared into nearby woods, his father calling after him. Ken spent almost two hours looking for his son, but the child was nowhere to be found. Despondent, Ken eventually flagged down a passing motorist and notified park authorities.

Sometime near 6 p.m., park rangers and more than 100 people, some with search dogs and on horseback, began to look for the missing boy. They began to cover an area at the crest of the Cascade range more than 7000 feet high. As the search went on, the skies darkened and winds blew up to 35 miles an hour. The snow increased. These conditions made it impossible to call helicopters for help.

Next Page

For more daily crime news