Scouts review guest policy

The local Boy Scouts of America council says it will review its policies regarding guests at Scout encampments following the disappearance and rescue of Brennan Hawkins.

And it will try to figure out how to better educate guests at its established Scout camps about its rules and regulations, said Kay Godfrey, spokesman for the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

No one has publicly blamed the BSA for Hawkins getting lost while at the East Fork of the Bear Boy Scout Reservation in the Uinta Mountains of eastern Utah. But national Scouting guidelines dictate that Brennan and friend Brian Christensen, both 11 years old, were too young to go around the camp without adult supervision.

Brennan was a guest of the Christensen family at the reservation, which includes three Scout camps on about 540 acres. The Hawkins and Christensen families are friends and live in the same Bountiful neighborhood.

Martin Christensen, Brian's father, was responsible for training some of the adult leaders at The Big Event, an annual encampment for 14- to-17-year-old Scouts.

"What we're concerned about is our guests and family members that would come to camp in a capacity where an adult is asked to be a leader or an instructor," Godfrey said.

According to the Guide to Safe Scouting, which can be accessed on the Boy Scouts' Web site, www.scouting.org, bringing younger Scouts to events designated for older Scouts can do a disservice to both.

"Disservice is done to the unit because of distractions often caused by younger children," the rules state. "A disservice is also done to the child, who is not trained to participate in such an activity and who, as a nonmember of the group, may be ignored by the older campers."

The rules state younger children may camp with parents and that parents are responsible for their supervision.

Martin Christensen was in a chow line when his son, Brian, arrived alone.

"Where's Brennan?" Martin asked.

"He's right behind me, Dad," Brian responded.

The two young boys were at a climbing wall and became separated when they ran to dinner.

But Brennan never showed, prompting a massive search. He was found four days later on a rugged trail that leads to Lily Lake.

Godfrey said the council's safety committee, which consists of community volunteers, will begin looking at policies during the summer, to make them clearer.