Authorities review search
BY MARY PERHAM THE LEADER

BATH - It is possible searchers passed by Samantha Williams while the lost and exhausted girl slept Thursday night, June 21, in Mossy Bank Park.

At a meeting of roughly 200 emergency responders Tuesday night, officials speculated the 10-year-old girl walked down a gully to leave the high hills and steep cliffs of the 170-acre park and reached County Route 11 where she was rescued.

The gully was one key area volunteers looked, with flashlights, during the initial nightlong search.

But if the child crawled away from the gully into the underbrush to sleep, she was likely too tired too hear her rescuers, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation officer Anne Farrand.

And the light from a flashlight wouldn't have been enough to pick her up if she was far enough off the gully's path, Farrand said.

Samantha, a shy, quiet girl, was found by a anonymous passerby late Friday morning, 16 hours after she was reported missing by her mother, Emily Williams. The little girl told her rescuer she was trying to find her 7-yearold brother, after the pair became separated on a trail just off the park's playground area.

But her recollections of how she reached the road after walking miles are hazy.

Four days after she was found, scratched, bruised and covered in mud, representatives from local fire, police, environment and medical teams met to review their efforts and sharpen their skills.

Bath Police Chief David Rouse and Bath Volunteer Fire Chief Mark Conrad said they began the search around 6:30 p.m. Thursday as quietly as possible. Abduction was also a consideration, they said.

"Time was a problem," Conrad said. "On the other hand, we didn't want a lot of people up there messing up the scent for the dogs.

Initially, firefighters with ATVs reported to the scene, a helicopter and police dog were requested, forest rangers were alerted and park visitors were asked to leave.

As the evening progressed, more search teams were coordinated, and Steuben County deputies were called in with night vision goggles. An ambulance was called in at 4 a.m., to avoid arousing a greater public concern, Conrad said.

At daybreak, rappelling teams from several volunteer fire departments began to scale sheer drops of up to 50 feet from slate cliffs. Other search teams were formed, and nearby county roads 10 and 11, were monitored. Coordinators were planning for a third shift of volunteers when Samantha was found.

But while the full-scale search went well, improvements are needed, said some responders Tuesday night.

Searchers reported problems with inaccurate park maps and missing sign posts, which led some to become disoriented. Others said the staging area became too congested with trucks and rescue trucks, and more central command was needed.