Camp Welcomes Back Boy Who Went Missing

By COLlive reporter

Campers at Machane Heights Pioneers Camp in Vermont joyously welcomed back their friend Shmuel Rabinowitz on Thursday evening, nearly 24 hours after he had gone missing on a Vermont mountain trail, setting off dozens of searchers and thousands of prayers around the world.

The boys are spending the summer at the survival camp in the green Vermont mountains, an outdoor adventure program led by Director Michoel Nagel, as well as Mendel Jacobson, Yekusiel Kaplan and Shimon Meschaninov.

The camp, now in its 8th year, grew as an offshoot of Camp Gan Israel of Burlington’s older boys’ division and has since become a popular overnight camp for Lubavitch boys, growing from its first year with 8 boys to a camp for 45 young bochurim, with a yearly waiting list.

The camp is “so much more than a survival camp,” Director Michoel Nagel told COLlive. “The boys learn about leadership, teamwork, cooperation, and crucial life skills, all through the lens of Chasidus,” he explains.

Campers learn to be self-sufficient and responsible, with everything in the camp done by the boys themselves.

“The boys make the camp eruv, cook the camp food, clean up after themselves,” Nagel says. “They learn that if you want a fire, you have to create the proper environment, prepare the materials, and build it yourself. They also learn skills like catching and gutting fish, building shelters, paintball shooting, and more. They are learning valuable lessons every day they are here. Their physical success in their activities here leads them to spiritual success.”

Nagel believes that it is these very skills which were taught to the boys over the past 3 weeks of camp, which helped Shmuel Rabinowitz remain calm and safe throughout his ordeal being lost in the woods alone.

The camp’s older division had embarked on a 4-day hike, and as per the usual protocol, were walking with 3 counselors, one in the front, one in the middle, and one at the back of the group.

On the second evening of the hike, approximately 2 hours before sunset and just after the last group of boys had summited mount Killington, the boys took a short break. After the break, the boys began to continue on the hiking trail, leaving Shmuel and the counselor a few paces behind. Shmuel began walking towards the rest of the group, a few paces ahead of his counselor, and then stopped for a moment to fix something on his backpack. When he had finished, he continued walking, but did not catch up to them before he came to a fork in the road, mistakenly taking the wrong one.

The counselor, only a few paces behind, had no idea that Shmuel had taken the wrong turn, and continued along the trail until he caught up to the rest of the group, when he noticed that Shmuel was not there.

The counselor, Nagel said, immediately notified the other counselor, and together they walked back to try and find Rabinowitz, but he was nowhere to be found on the trail.

They immediately called the camp director, who called the police, and a search commenced right away.

Shmuel, meanwhile, kept walking, thinking he would eventually catch up with his friends.

By nightfall, Shmuel knew he was lost, and so he stayed in place until the morning, when he continued walking until he could find a shelter.

“Thank G-d he had food, survival training, and knew where to find fresh water, after 3 weeks in camp,” Nagel says. “By the next morning, he had walked 18 miles, so he was already out of the search radius, which is why the searchers did not find him.”

By 11 am, Shmuel had found a shelter and a group of hikers that he recognized from the day before, and so he remained with them.

“They did not have cell phone reception where they were, so they walked together for a few hours, until around 5:00 pm, when Shmuel was finally able to contact his mother to tell her that he was ok.”

“What was most incredible to see throughout those frightening moments were the unbelievable efforts of Klal Yisroel – those who came to help and those who were davening for us and saying Tehillim – that helped us get through it,” Nagel says.

“The Chaverim volunteers and the state police were just amazing, how they dropped everything to help another person,” he said.

Shmuel’s counselors also “were incredible,” Nagel says, “gathering the bochurim to recite Tehillim, giving them chizuk to remain strong and positive, and to take on something in their yiddishkeit in Shmuel’s merit,” Nagel says.

“Shmuel’s family was unbelievable throughout, exhibiting great Emunah that everything would be alright,” Nagel says.

The most moving moment, Nagel says, is when Shmuel was finally reunited with his family, what was his first request.

“As soon as he came to the area where the Chaverim were set up, he asked for his Tefillin, and he immediately ran to put on Tefillin,” Nagel says.

After a joyous Maariv together with the Chaverim volunteers, where the bochurim sang and danced with Shmuel, grateful for his safe return, Shmuel headed home with his parents for a restful Shabbos.

But he did not remain for long. By Sunday, Shmuel was back in camp, enjoying fishing and the camp’s grand trip to Missoquoi Bay national wildlife reserve in Northern Vermont on Monday. He caught a sizable fish and was all smiles enjoying the outdoors again.

VIDEO: Joyous dancing for Shmuel’s safe return

VIDEO: First week at Machne Pioneers Training