FORT SMITH — On June 28, when Boy Scout Troop 3 began its fourth day of mountain trekking at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., they never thought that it might end in near tragedy.
Subiaco Academy students Joseph Boltuc, Alex Sharum and Cameron Mask; Trinity Junior High School students Eric Boltuc and Ian Hattabaugh; Southside High School students Matthew Schultz and Eli Hattabaugh; Northside High School student Joseph Smith; and Brian Boatright, who recently relocated to Florida, were a close knit group of friends, most of whom had been together five years, according to Marna Boltuc, Christ the King School principal and Joseph’s and Eric’s mother.
Dr. Jim Hattabaugh, Trinity principal, and Ric Cooper, a Trinity alumni parent, served as adult advisers.
“We were facing a nine-mile hike with 40-pound backpacks on Day 5,” Ian Boltuc said. “We were pretty close to the top of the first summit, and the climb was a lot steeper. We gave my Dad and Ric a head start and followed from behind.”
About three hours into the uphill climb, Cooper developed chest pains and fell backwards five feet. Dr. Hattabaugh rushed over and began chest compressions. Eli Hattabaugh, who had attended CPR wilderness first aid training, took over, giving two breaths and an additional 30 chest compressions, until Cooper gasped and began breathing on his own.
“I was scared, but my training took over,” Eli said.
The nine boys, working as a team, decided to make Cooper as comfortable as possible until they could get help. Using ropes, hiking equipment and other available materials, Mask, Smith and Sharum set up a tarp to protect him from the hot sun.
Boatright, Eric Boltuc, Ian Hattabaugh and Schultz headed toward the Cypher Mine base camp to get emergency help, the four-mile mountain hike taking 90 minutes. Eli and crew leader Joseph Boltuc hiked uphill to see if they could get a cell phone signal to bring help more quickly. Jim Hattabaugh stayed with Cooper.
By the time the SUV arrived from base camp, Cooper felt a little better and was able to sit up and even tell a few jokes to help the boys relax and ease the tension. The emergency medical technicians gave him oxygen and brought him to Albuquerque, where he had double heart bypass surgery.
Instead of completing the mountain trek, the troop stayed at Black Mountain Camp, living in a log cabin as post-Civil War settlers did, learning about blacksmithing, using black powder rifles, praying for Cooper’s recovery and waiting for news from the hospital.
“We never expected that this would happen on our trip,” Ian said.
“We were close before, but we became closer,” Eric said. “I thought that more people would freak out over it, but everyone stayed pretty calm and worked together.”
Bill Willis, scoutmaster for Troop 3, said that Cooper, who lives in northwest Arkansas, has continued to recover at home.
“Several of our adult leaders had lunch with him, and he’s doing well,” Willis said. “Ric has always been a real outdoorsman who’s done a lot of kayaking and hiking. While we never expected this would happen, I’m proud of all these boys. They kept their cool under pressure. The Boy Scout motto is ’Be prepared.’ Part of our goal is to make boys strong citizens with high standards. We’re supposed to be boy led and teach boys to be leaders in life. The scouts in Troop 3 showed real leadership and teamwork.”
Marna Boltuc said the experience has taught all the scouts that their lives are in God’s hands.
“I think it taught them how important it is to be prepared because you never know when you will encounter unexpected experiences,” she said.
