Bob CollinsBy Sunday morning, the story of Keith Kennedy, 25, of Shoreview had shrunk to just a few column inches in the back of the local paper. It said fewer volunteers than expected showed up Saturday to search for the autistic man in the woods of Wisconsin. Hope clearly was running out.
He wandered away from a camp for developmentally disabled adults last week near Grantsburg and needed an anti-rejection medication for a kidney transplant he received from his father in 1995.
Sunday was the last chance. The search was to end.
But they won’t need another day. The man who can only speak four words, was found Sunday evening by one of several St. Paul firefighters who’ve been volunteering in the search. “I now believe in miracles,” his mother told the Star Tribune.
The many volunteers from this neck of the woods should step forward and take a bow.
It’s the second sweet ending to a search in a week. Last week, two women — one from Minnesota — who disappeared while hiking in Washington state Alaska, were found — alive — several days later.
Update Monday 9:17 a.m.
This statement from the family has just been issued:
The family of Keith Kennedy wishes to express their deep appreciation to the volunteers and law enforcement who searched for and found their son. Keith is stable and improving. He is at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview in the intensive care unit.
While the family appreciates the intense interest in their son, they are asking that the media stop calling their cell phones and home.
