CHARLESTON — As the search for a missing autistic hiker stretched into its third day, about 125 people gathered in the man’s hometown to offer prayers for his safe recovery.
Jacob Allen, 18, has been missing since Sunday, when he wandered away from his parents, Jim and Karen Allen of Morgantown, while hiking at the Dolly Sods Wilderness area.
On Tuesday night, well-wishers and friends gathered at the Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown to hold hands and sing gospel songs while searchers combed the remote terrain.
“All of us wish we could be down there searching for him,” Trey Dunham, who led the prayer vigil, told The Dominion Post of Morgantown. “But this is the best thing we can do right now.”
There wasn’t much else for volunteers to do Tuesday night. About 15 skilled professionals with the Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference were searching the wooded area at night, aided by specially trained dogs, according to Chris Stadelman, the public information officer for the search command post near Davis.
Most other volunteers, who numbered about 300 Tuesday, had been sent home, although they planned to start gathering again early Wednesday morning to begin the daylight search.
Search crews have been concerned about temperatures, which have dipped as low as 38 degrees, but hypothermia should not be an issue provided Allen stays dry, Stadelman said. So far, there has been no rain but there is a slight chance of showers over the next couple of days.
Allen was wearing hiking boots, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a wind jacket and wind pants. His hat was found Monday, near the area where he was last seen.
He had no food or water with him, but Stadelman said there are natural water sources in the search area, which consists of about 10 square miles of often steep and brush-covered terrain.
There is no way of telling how Allen — who has the mental capacity of a 3- or 4-year-old — might react in this situation, said Stadelman.
“Obviously this is something none of us has ever been through and certainly Jacob hasn’t either,” he said.
Jim and Karen Allen went out several times with rescue crews but stayed only for brief periods so they could be ready to go to their son when needed, said Stadelman.
“We don’t want them to be far away when we find him,” he said. “We want to get them to him as quickly as possible.”
The couple brought their son’s pillowcase for rescue dogs to sniff, hoping the animals could pick up his scent. Helicopters are also being used in the search.
On Monday night, crews of about 45 people combed the trails in the Randolph County section of the wilderness area, which is in the Monongahela National Forest, deliberately lighting campfires to make themselves visible in case Jacob Allen was nearby.
While Allen is described as severely autistic by his mother, Stadelman said, he is in good physical shape and likes to hike. The family visits Dolly Sods a couple times a year, Stadelman said.
While the Allens have declined to speak directly with reporters, Jim Allen released a statement Tuesday thanking the community for the “outpouring of support.”
“We just appreciate it all so much and thank them for their participation and their prayers and we ask that they continue praying.”
West Virginia
Related Photos
-
AP PHOTO
Church holds vigil to pray for safe recovery of missing hiker
- West Virginia
-
-
Man gets life sentence for ex-wife’s death
A man was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in the beating death of his ex-wife.
Thomas Charlie Lee Runner, 46, of Galloway, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday at the Barbour County Courthouse in Philippi. -
State campaign finance limits challenged in court
A political group formed to aid West Virginia incumbents this November won a partial victory Thursday after suing over the state’s limits on campaign contributions and a policy addressing corporate spending.
-
Relatives other than parents raising kids
Sharon Davis jumped in and obtained custody of her young grandson when her daughter got tangled in a web of drugs. A decade later, her daughter is straightened out and now has her own little girl, while her son remains with Davis.
-
Project aims to get West Virginians active
A new wellness project aims to motivate West Virginians to get off their couches and be healthy.
LiveWell West Virginia is a collaboration of the West Virginia University Extension Service and the Charleston Gazette. -
Missing girl’s mother gets eight months for welfare fraud
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the mother of a 3-year-old girl who vanished eight months ago this week to spend eight months behind bars for welfare fraud.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey ruled that Lena Lunsford must begin serving her sentence June 28. -
West Virginia seventh in death rates for accidents, violence
Drug overdoses and motor vehicle crashes helped push West Virginia’s death rate involving accidents and violence to the seventh-highest in the nation, according to a report on injury prevention released Tuesday.
-
W.Va. could add hurdles to primary ballot
West Virginia officials have several options if they want to avoid repeating an outcome of this month’s primary election, when imprisoned felon Keith Judd attracted nearly 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama.
-
W.Va. could add hurdles to primary ballot
West Virginia officials have several options if they want to avoid a repeat outcome of this month’s primary election, when imprisoned felon Keith Judd attracted nearly 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama.
-
Computers used to grade WESTEST essays
Thousands of essays written by West Virginia students are largely going unread by human eyes.
-
West Virginia coal mining employment at high level
State figures show that coal mining employment in West Virginia is at its highest level since the 1990s.
The Charleston Gazette says a recent analysis of Workforce West Virginia figures by Ted Boettner with the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy shows there were nearly 22,700 mining jobs in 2011. - More West Virginia Headlines
-
Man gets life sentence for ex-wife’s death
