Missing in Millstone

“Millstone Police Department, Chief Russo speaking, how may I help you?” Chief Anthony Russo alertly answers his phone as he sits behind his stained oak desk.

It’s the beginning of Spring in the Adirondack town of Millstone. Known for its success in the logging industry, Millstone is one of the bigger towns set inside the 2.6-million-acre park. While the logging industry had come and gone, the town still makes ends meet economically. The home of 7,500 residents, the pulse of the town runs through its main street. The majority of people live on the surrounding avenues and drives. The snow had mostly melted away, only patches hung around under bushes and other shrubbery.

“My son and his friend didn’t come home last night! Please you have to help me!” the sobbing voice exclaimed from the other end of the line.

This caught the chief’s attention and he sat up straight in his chair, grabbed a pen and paper. “Okay hold on ma’am, slow down. First what is your name?” Chief Russo asked in a calming yet stern tone.

“Becky Winslow. My name is Becky Winslow,” she replied, still sniffling, but had stopped crying.

“Okay Ms. Winslow what happened?” “My son Pat and his friend Cody went for a walk last night after dinner. I feel asleep and when I woke up this morning, I saw neither boy had come back. God, I hope they aren’t lost.”

“What’s Cody’s last name and have you notified his parents yet?”

“It’s Smart and yes they are on the way over to my house as we speak.”

Tony Russo jotted down the names of the missing boys and soon found out their last known whereabouts. After directing Ms. Winslow to stay put, Tony hung up the phone, stood, and walked out of his office. The main space of the police station had eight desks (one each for his police force), a front door that stayed locked with a glass window in case someone had to pay a fine, fill out a police report, or speak to an officer directly, and a break area.

“Alright guys we just got a case. Two missing boys last seen on Oak St headed north toward the Camel Hump Mountain trail. Teens’ names are Patrick Winslow and Cody Smart both 14,” Russo exclaimed to his team.

“What do they look like boss? I’ll put out a B.O.L.O and get it out to all the local TV and radio stations and our Facebook Page.” This came from the desk of Meredith Wesson. Mary has been on the Millstone Police force for 5 years and deemed the hardest worker on the entire force. Tony always looks to her in any and all situations that he can’t do himself or requires an extra pair of hands.

“Patrick or Pat is 5 foot 6, ‘husky’ as his mom described him, brown hair and eyes. He was last seen wearing a green rain jacket, blue jeans, and dark grey muck boots.” Chief Russo paused as Mary and his other two deputies Bobby (Bubbas) Flagler and Richard (Richie) Montgomery jotted down the boy’s description.

Tony continued, “His buddy Cody is 5 foot 11. Skinny. Has blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a brown hooded sweatshirt, tan chainsaw pants, and tan boots.”

As his team finished scribbling, the chief ran his initial plan through his head. Get the team over to the Winslow house and set up the base. Have Richie stay behind and make flyers for the residents, any and every street light poll and businesses’ windows. Contact the Adirondack Rangers of Conservation and Recreation to help with the search.

“Alright Mary after you’re done contacting all the local stations you and Bubbas meet me at the Winslow address, that’s where our base will be set up. Richie you stay back and create and print out “Have you seen these boys” signs. Hand them out to any resident of Millstone you see; tack them up on every light pole you can and tape the rest on business’s front windows. After you’re all done with that, come meet us.” This was the first missing persons case Tony Russo had since taking the job as Millstone Police Chief and he wasn’t going to sleep until the boys were found.

______________

“Fuck dude this sucks. I thought you knew where you were going,” Cody Smart said shivering, to his friend Pat Winslow.

“I do. It just looks different from the last time my brother and I explored this part of Fulton Lake. Don’t get your balls all twisted,” Pat replied trying to act tough, but deep down knew they were lost.

The two boys had decided to take an after-dinner walk to try and find the sought out “Millstone Bandit” treasure. The legend stated that in the 1950s a man only known as the “Millstone Bandit” robbed all the convenience stores and banks in the town and stashed his keep buried under an unmarked tree between the Camel Hump Mountain trail and stream that filtered into Fulton Lake. Pat’s older brother told him the story and soon after told Cody. The two boys became obsessed looking for the treasure so they could become famous and be on the front of every newspaper and on every tv station. Little did they know they were already.

___________

Infront of the Winslow residents, Russo and his team set up a table and tent calling it their command post. Volunteers and the nearby Forest Ranger force continued to listen to Sergeant Flagler as he debriefed everyone on the situation at hand.

“Alright folks, these boys have been missing now for 15 hours, and their last meal was about 16 hours ago. The temperature was in the low 40s so they will likely become hypothermic in the next few hours. We will be having search parties in groups of 5 with one designated “leader”. They will have a radio to report any findings back to Chief Russo. Any questions?”

As the search parties got ready to begin looking for Pat and Cody, Tony Russo finished helping the local EMTs with their station to check the boys before they were sent to the hospital. Pat’s mom was handing out bottled water and snacks to anyone who would take them. Cody’s parents joined a search party and were ready to go find their son.

“Bubbas,” Russo called from the aid station.

Sergeant Flagler walked over to his boss and said, “Yeah boss?”

“All the groups briefed and have a leader?”

“Yes sir. 6 groups of 5 each have a radio and their search radius. A Forest Ranger is in each group carrying a small first aid kit in case one of the kids’ got an injury.”

“Perfect. Good job Bubbas. Go help Richie with hanging up the rest of the flyers and I’ll call you if anything changes,” the chief instructed.

“Uh okay, I’ll go do that,” Flagler responded less than pleased.

Deputy Wesson walked over to the aid station as Sargent Flagler headed toward Deputy Montgomery’s police SUV.

“What’s Bubbas problem?” she asked as she got to the table.

“He’s probably pissed I made him go hand out flyers with Richie. He’ll have a problem with me for a while so you just get used to it,” Russo replied.

“Jeeze you think he’d get over it by now. Anyway, I talked to my dad and the State Police have agreed to use their plane to help with the search.”

“Wonderful. Have him call me if they spot them. We aren’t connected to their radio frequency.”

“Copy that,” Deputy Wesson said as she dialed her father’s cell.

Mary walked away and Tony began anxiously pacing back and forth from command center to aid station, constantly chewing gum and checking his watch. The boys were now gone for 17 hours and in a couple more this might turn into a recovery mission.

______________

“Shouldn’t we stay here? So, the police can find us?” Cody asked Pat, teeth chattering and his lips starting to turn a mild shade of blue.

Maybe, I’m not sure man. I’m cold and hungry. I haven’t eaten since 6 last night. I just want food” Pat replied.

The boys were now 4 miles west of the trail head in dense woods. They could no longer hear the stream rushing toward Fulton Lake nor the traffic on Fulton Lake Road that was adjacent to the trail parking lot. The temperature rose from 42 to 45 since the sun began to rise, but the woods were damp and wet, making conditions less than ideal for two lost teenage boys not prepared to spend time in the forest.

“Man, I hope they find us, I’m not ready to die,” Cody said sitting on a rotted log, beginning to cry.

“Cody, we aren’t gonna die dude. They are going to find us and you’ll be able to ask Paula out,” Pat responded trying to sound reassuring.

Pat sat down next to Cody and hugged him. Half to console his scared friend, half to keep them both warm; hoping someone would find them soon.

___________

“Bird’s in the air, headed to the last known location,” Mary said to Chief Russo as the two of them stood underneath the Command Center tent, looking over the map. It had grids drawn over the search area, labeled with the six different groups. Everything was set in place and now Russo and the others just had to wait. Waiting was the toughest part for Tony. It reminded him of the countless times he’d be staking out speeders on the Howard Franklin Bridge connecting Tampa Florida to St. Petersburg. Necessary work, but boring. Chief Russo was a hands-on person, who’d rather be deep in the weeds rather than on the shoreline.

“Chandler to Russo. Come in Russo,” suddenly came over the radio. Tony sprinted over to it, picked up the receiver and spoke.

“This is Russo, go ahead Chandler,” he responded.

“We have come up empty on our grid search. They are not near the entrance of Camel Hump Mountain,” Park Ranger Ian Chandler reported.

“Copy that Chandler. Retrace your steps until you get back to your entry point in case something was missed.”

“Copy that. Chandler out.”

Tony put the receiver down and sighed and began walking toward the aid station yet again.

__________

“What time is it?” Cody asked, lips now a more prominent blue.

“Half past a sandwich,” Pat responded.

The boys laughed lightly as another hour past. They had gotten up and moved back east toward where they thought the trail was. Cody still shivered and Pat was still hungry. They sat again on a fallen tree trunk under an opening in the trees. The sun was hitting them directly and the heat felt welcoming.

A faint noise suddenly over took the chattering birds and bugs. It sounded like an engine, but they couldn’t tell.

“Do you hear that?” Pat asked.

“Yeah, what is it?” Cody responded.

The noise became louder as Cody finished his sentence.

“Holy shit I think it’s a plane,” Cody exclaimed, slowly standing up.

“You think they will see us?” Pat asked, also standing.

“I don’t know, but just start waving your hands and yelling!”

They both started waving their arms around and shouting. The plane flew directly over the opening then as quickly as it came, it was gone.

“God, I hope they saw…” Pat was interrupted by the powerful plane engine flying back over them. Quickly waving their hands again, the plane was gone, but they both felt it was one step closer to getting home.

_________

“Hold on dad,” Mary said into her iPhone, “Chief! Chief! The State Police spotted the boys! Dad wants to talk to you.”

Chief Russo was standing over the map looking at each grid, trying to figure out the next move. He looked up and smiled as Mary handed him the phone.

“Where are they Wesson?” he asked, knowing exchanging pleasantries were the least of everyone’s worries.

After getting the location, Tony called over the radio.

“Attention all search groups. The boys have been located. I repeat they have been located. Ranger Brady Morrison, they are in your grid, three miles west of the Fulton Lake trail head. Everyone else stand down.”

_________

“Thank you again Chief. I don’t know what we would have done without you,” Mrs. Smart said for the fifth time.

“It was a team effort,” Tony replied smiling and nodding.

They were standing next to Cody, who was being put into the ambulance on a stretcher. A small crowd had gathered around the trail head to see what was going on. A reporter from the local herald was also there, snapping photos and shouting out questions. Ignoring them, Russo left the Smarts’ and gathered his team in the back area of the parking lot where no one was.

“I just wanted to thank all of you for your help today. This was a team effort,” Chief Russo said, going around and shaking everyone’s hand.

Only the Park Rangers, Tony’s officers, and a few stray volunteers were left. Most everyone else wanted to get home to shower and change. As he continued to go around and shake hands, a man come over to the group.

“Chief Russo?” he said. Tony looked up and over the man. “My name is Jared Edgar and just wanted to say congratulations on finding those boys.”

Russo walked over to him and met his extended hand. “Thanks Mr. Edgar, but it wasn’t just me, it was the whole team over there,” he responded.

“I know you haven’t been here long and I haven’t had the chance to introduce myself. I own the only crematorium in town.”

“Oh okay, well nice to meet you,” Tony said, a bit alarmed that Jared Edgar decided to introduce himself now.

“Welcome to Millstone, where you never know what’s going to happen.” Jared Edgar turned and slowly walked away, leaving Chief Russo wondering what he meant.