BOUNTIFUL — Yellow ribbons adorned nearly every inch of the chain-link fence surrounding the Hawkinses' home Monday. Posters celebrating the discovery of 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins plastered poles and doorways throughout the neighborhood.

"We were unsure as the time went on, and we had faith, but it was hard to remain optimistic," said Elizabeth Sewak, a family friend and substitute teacher at Leo J. Muir Elementary where Brennan attends school.

"When I first heard, I waited for some sort of confirmation and then I shouted for joy," she said.

Friends and neighbors were indeed elated at the news that Brennan had been found alive. Almost immediately following the news, people flocked to the Hawkinses' home here to post signs welcoming the family home.

"He's a survivor, it's really amazing," said Jeffrey Barnett, one of Brennan's friends. Barnett, 10, said he plans to camp out in the Hawkinses' yard until the family drives in.

"We'll rejoice and yell and wake up the neighborhood to celebrate when he comes home," he said.

Other friends of Brennan's said he will have an "amazing" story to tell. Richard Davis, 10, said Brennan will be stronger because of his experience of being lost in Utah's wilderness.

"He probably wandered around up there praying to come home to his friends," Davis said. "His dad taught him a lot about the outdoors, and I think he knew to go to a wide-open place like a lake."

Bruce Davis, a member of the Hawkinses' LDS Church ward bishopric, tearfully expressed how grateful everyone was to have Brennan home. He said the community came together in support of the family.

The Hawkinses' church participated in the search Sunday, held a vigil Monday night and tied the yellow ribbons on trees.

"Words cannot express how grateful Brennan's parents are," he said. "This is how they thought it would turn out, but you never know as parents."

Davis said that when Brennan's father heard Brennan was found, "he turned from a searcher into a father" and dropped everything and ran to be with his son.

"This is a win for everyone," he said.

Brennan's mother told Davis that having a lost boy wasn't in her job description as a mother, but that the feeling of having him home definitely was, he said.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com