DAGGETT LAKE — The search continues for a 12-year-old Hooper boy who got lost Friday afternoon near Daggett Lake in Daggett County in northeastern Utah.
Jared Ropelato was on a trip to the lake with his Boy Scout troop when he disappeared sometime before noon, said Karen Peterson, spokeswoman for the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office.
The troop leader noticed the boy was missing about noon and sent a text message to his wife to call the sheriff’s office.
“Just got a scary call ... my youngest is away from his scout group,” Jared’s mother, Dawn Ropelato, posted to her Facebook page sometime after 2 p.m.
At least 20 deputies and search and rescue team members, as well as a Department of Public Safety helicopter, were out looking for the boy Friday afternoon around the lake, which is about four miles up a mountain trail.
His father and older brother also drove out to the area to look for him.
But the boy had not been found as of 9 p.m. The search will continue throughout the night and today until he is, Peterson said.
The Garrett Bardsley Foundation is also gathering volunteers to search for him starting at 8:30 a.m. today. For more information on how to volunteer for that effort, visit findgarrett.org.
The terrain on the mountain is very rugged and accessible only by foot or on horseback, she said.
A lot of people have been offering to help look for him on their four-wheelers, but the terrain does not allow for it, she said.
Peterson said that the temperatures should not drop so low that it would put Jared’s health at risk.
Anderson was not aware whether Jared has any existing health complications.
The boy was last seen wearing a gray shirt, Anderson said.
“Please help us pray that they find him quickly,” Dawn Ropelato wrote.
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