Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 27, 1993                   TAG: 9306270116
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PAIR LOST IN CRAIG HAS SAFE RETURN

The Roanoke boy and his uncle from Chicago strayed from a Craig County hiking trail, which had been seriously damaged by the storm that tormented the valley three weeks ago.

Deputies with the Craig County Sheriff's Office searched for the two throughout the night with volunteers and family members. Helicopters and search dogs were on the way to the scene Saturday morning when the boy and Baldwin found their way to Camp Easter Seal-West, a Sheriff's Office representative said.

Despite several stings from a run-in with a bees' nest, the two are in good condition, Kathryn Glassbrenner, David's mother, said. "Everything's OK, but they're pretty scratched up."

The two are experienced hikers, she said, and they decided to brave a new trail, one marked "easy."

"What they didn't know was that the recent storm brought down so many trees and virtually obliterated the trail," she said.

David said he and his uncle realized they were lost Friday afternoon.

After their return, he said, "I felt kind of nervous," a feeling that got worse when his uncle began to have difficulty breathing after he was stung.

The Glassbrenners notified authorities about 6 p.m. when the two did not return home.

The pair drank stream water to keep from getting dehydrated; they had no food or water with them, David said.

Baldwin built a fire, tried to keep David warm and stayed up all night, Kathryn Glassbrenner said.

But neither one slept well. The hard ground and shouts from the search party kept David awake most of the night, he said. "We heard calling from the hikers who were searching for us, but they couldn't hear us," he said.

Kathryn Glassbrenner said she couldn't sleep well, either, as her husband and older son searched through the early part of the night. "I prayed a lot," she said.

When the sun came up Saturday morning, David and Baldwin realized they were close to the camp, some five miles away from the trail, according to Craig County deputies.

"It felt like a lot more. It felt like miles and miles of walking," David said.

Camp officials tended to the two until they were brought home.

David Glassbrenner missed his last Little League game because of blisters on his feet Saturday, but he did get that root beer he'd been wishing for.