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The Sign
At 8 a.m. the searchers were briefed on every detail about Michael. Misha studied his picture. She wanted to lock his image in her mind, the way Gandalf would lock in his scent.
The base camp command center sent out one dog team at a time to assigned territories. Misha and Gandalf -- along with Erin Horn, a nursing student, and Danny Gambill, a volunteer firefighter -- were directed to area 51, one of the steepest.
The three checked the map. Area 51 was an elongated north-to-south rectangle along a trail. The team decided to hike to the top of their zone, then let Gandalf zigzag his way back down. They estimated they had about 70 acres, 1 percent of the park area, to search. A sweep would take them at least eight hours.
It was a mild 50 degrees, but the night before, the mercury had dropped below freezing. Michael had basic Scouting skills, and searchers hoped he'd found shelter. He had read and loved the books Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain, about young boys surviving in the woods alone. But three days had passed now, and the cadaver dogs had been sent for.
Misha concentrated on the search ahead. She didn't want anything negative to cloud her focus. Michael is alive, she told Gandalf. We're going to find him.
She took out the bag containing the shred of Michael's shirt and let Gandalf sniff it. Head up and nose high, the dog started up the trail. Misha, Erin and Danny followed.
Gandalf fringed the trail, switching from side to side, funneled ever upward by the steep rock walls and sheer drop-offs. Erin was navigating with the map and a GPS device. After about an hour, they stopped and conferred. According to the GPS, they had gone up about 5,900 feet, putting them at the top of their assigned area. It was time to turn back and begin their descent. But the team agreed to go up a little higher, just to be sure.
Another 15 minutes or so of climbing couldn't hurt. It would be good to overlap another search area, they reasoned. They chose a spot about 200 yards away, crossing and recrossing Basin Creek, picking their way over stones and fallen logs.
While Erin was studying the GPS, Danny was scanning his side of the trail. The searchers headed up the right bank of the creek. All of a sudden, Misha saw Gandalf's head snap up, but she couldn't spot a thing in the underbrush.
The wind was coming toward them now, around the shoulder of a cliff. Gandalf was about 30 yards ahead, working the bank of the stream where it turned beneath a wall of rock. Misha saw him quickly lift his head again. Was that the sign she'd been waiting for?
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