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After a summer of tense, high-profile search and rescues, what happened Tuesday in the Uinta Mountains was therapeutic for our collective Utah psyche. Searchers found little three-year-old Benji Myrup and returned him safely to his loved ones.
It was gratifying to see how quickly volunteers showed up to join in the search for the toddler who had wandered away from his family's campsite near Haystack Lake. Mobilization plans put into place after other search efforts in recent years paid dividends. It involved volunteers on foot and horseback, along with airplanes and helicopters.
It worked!
Within hours, a spotter in a helicopter caught a quick glimpse of the toddler huddled among the rocks, and shortly, ground crews arrived at the scene. Soon, little Benji was back in the arms of his mother. Save for a few scratches and a missing shoe, he was safe, healthy and hardly the worse for wear.
As Utahns, we needed this success story.
