Boy had walked away from his hiking group

View larger image Sandra Painter, left, a Mount Jackson Rescue and Fire volunteer, and Shenandoah County Sheriff's office Lt. W.P. McNett , right, look over a map of the search area inside the Columbia Furnace Community Club Wednesday morning in the Wolf Gap area. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Steve Hawkins communicates with a police helicopter during search efforts Wednesday morning inside the command center at the Columbia Furnace Community Club. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Matthew Richardson

By Preston Knight - pknight@nvdaily.com

EDINBURG -- A Henrico County teenager reported missing early Tuesday evening in the George Washington National Forest was found safe about 19 hours later.

On Wednesday at about 10:40 a.m., Matthew Richardson, 14, who had walked away from his group hiking in the Wolf Gap area on Tuesday between 3-4 p.m., was found healthy, although possibly dehydrated, on an adjoining trail, said Maj. Scott Proctor of the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office.

At least 70 search and rescue personnel from across the state, including K-9 units and a State Police helicopter, were involved in the search, which began when a camp counselor from Blackwater Outdoor Experiences, of Midlothian, called for help at about 6:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Richardson was upset about something when he walked away from the group, Proctor said, and the area where he disappeared is far north of Wolf Gap Road, near Sugar Knob Cabin, and several miles off the paved roadway, close to the West Virginia line. Searchers worked into the night, but not through it, before resuming efforts Wednesday morning, he added.

A radio cache from Harrisonburg was put to use since cell phone service was unavailable in the area. Shenandoah County Fire Chief Gary Yew said a training exercise conducted with Fairfax County's cache in May 2009 helped get local personnel ready for an event such as the teen's rescue.

The cache ensured that the county's communications were not disrupted, he said.

But more important was the safety of everyone involved in the hot weather, Yew said. Nobody suffered heat-related injuries, he added, and Sheriff's Office Capt. Tom Hodges deserves credit as the incident commander for ensuring that everyone stayed hydrated. The amount of time personnel stay on scene to work is incident-driven, but Yew said Hodges set it at 12 hours in the search for Richardson.

On its website, Blackwater Outdoor Experiences calls itself a wilderness therapy program geared toward enhancing self-care, self-confidence, self-discipline and more for people 15 to 35 years old.