By: Guest-blogger Christian
A ninety-two year-old woman, Afton Werner, turned up missing on July 7, 2010 when she left her rest home for a walk but did not come back that night. Sources say she was last seen around 3:15 p.m
. Some think she left her home earlier and others think later. The search party that night was led by Mr. Dave Hansen. Many locals, including this reporter, participated in this search and in rounding up more people. Searchers went all the way down to the old Dick’s Market Place to look for Mrs. Werner.Shortly after midnight, some people thought they would not find her. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said a prayer to help find her and so that she would be safe. “What really struck me,” said Leon Thurgood, “was when Bishop Pitt prayed ‘We need a miracle now!'”
Later that morning, on July 8, the Bountiful Police set up a control center in the Bountiful High School parking lot. The police handed out maps to tell searchers which neighborhoods to go to to look for Mrs. Werner.
“I’m not quite sure what happened,” said Christian Mayfield, a member of the search party, “but one minute, we were discussing locations, the next we found her!” Mrs. Werner was found by Steven Sorenson in a backyard at the end of Larsen Drive, which is right next to the high school. She had spent the entire night sleeping on a hard concrete patio. Five people rushed over the fence from the command center to Steven Sorenson's house. In about ten minutes, a news channel was there. 
Then someone noticed Mrs. Werner didn’t have her walker. An eleven year old, a reporter, and the son-in-law of Mrs. Werner stomped into the woods looking for the lost walker. It was found in a small sandbox hidden in the scrub-oak of the property.
The medical team arrived a few minutes later and said Mrs. Werner would be fine, even though she slept on the patio.Her sons and daughters are relieved they found her, hoping it will never happen again. Mrs. Werner was returned safely to her room and reporters are still trying to find out why she left in the first place.
7 comments:
Good story Christian--very well written. You are a natural story teller! You rock.
Christian, if you decide NOT to be the first Mormon president of the United States, you could have a successful career as a journalist. No doubt a Pulitzer would be in your future. Either way I am proud of you and your many talents. G'Ma
Very well done. Sounds like a professional news reporter to me. We received the Code Red phone call the morning of July 8th. Thanks to Christian's article, we now know the details. Great quotes and pictures. We will come to Christian for all our local news updates.
Way to journalize, Christiano! And what an amazing rescue story. That must have been so cool to be a part of that rescue operation, especially with the happy ending.
What a great writer you are! You writing made me feel like I was right there helping with the search. I loved the picture, too.
Hope to read more from you in the future. Love, Grandma in Africa
I thoroughly enjoyed both articles that Christian wrote for his journalism merit badge, especially the parts in the bunny article where he refers to "the talented 11-year old" and the "over-competitive 9-year-old." Christian not only has a gift for writing, but also a great self-image which pleases me immensely.
Grandpa Mayfield
Way to go, Christian! That was another awesome article. What skills!
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