[UPDATE: The Daily Advertiser is reporting that the Boy Scouts have been located and are safe.]
[UPDATE: (May 3, 9:50 a.m.) The Daily Advertiser is reporting that the stranded Boy Scouts and their troop leaders were located about 3 a.m. this morning and are safe. Read more here.]
[UPDATE: Despite an email to The Independent Weekly from the Eagle Scout's Bob Clements at 3:35 p.m. today stating, "They are found and are safe!" we have learned this is sadly not the case. According to Art Hawkins, executive director of the Evangeline Area Boy Scouts of America, the troop has not been found. The Arkansas State Police and National Guard are trying to get a chopper into the area in between storm cells. We will continue to monitor the situation.]
Members of a local Boy Scout troop are missing in Ouachita National Forest outside of Hot Springs, Ark. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department would only confirm that there is a troop missing with its guardians but would not say how many are missing or if the troop's vehicle has been located. The department also confirms that flood waters in the area are a concern. A press conference has yet to be held, nor has a press release gone out.
Local sources say six teenage scout members and two adult troop leaders were to arrive home last night and never did, which is when the alarm was raised.
Bob Clements, the Eagle Scout mentor for the troop, tells KATC that the scouts - he said there were six - are all approximately 14 years old and are highly trained as High Adventure Scouts. They are members of Boy Scout Troop 162 of St. Edmond's Catholic Church.
Ouachita National Forest covers approximately 1.8 million acres in central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma.
Read more details from Clements here.