Published: October 17, 2007 01:38 am      

Church holds vigil to pray for safe recovery of missing hiker

CHARLESTON — As the search for a missing autistic hiker stretched into its third day, about 125 people gathered in the man’s hometown to offer prayers for his safe recovery.

Jacob Allen, 18, has been missing since Sunday, when he wandered away from his parents, Jim and Karen Allen of Morgantown, while hiking at the Dolly Sods Wilderness area.

On Tuesday night, well-wishers and friends gathered at the Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown to hold hands and sing gospel songs while searchers combed the remote terrain.

“All of us wish we could be down there searching for him,” Trey Dunham, who led the prayer vigil, told The Dominion Post of Morgantown. “But this is the best thing we can do right now.”

There wasn’t much else for volunteers to do Tuesday night. About 15 skilled professionals with the Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference were searching the wooded area at night, aided by specially trained dogs, according to Chris Stadelman, the public information officer for the search command post near Davis.

Most other volunteers, who numbered about 300 Tuesday, had been sent home, although they planned to start gathering again early Wednesday morning to begin the daylight search.

Search crews have been concerned about temperatures, which have dipped as low as 38 degrees, but hypothermia should not be an issue provided Allen stays dry, Stadelman said. So far, there has been no rain but there is a slight chance of showers over the next couple of days.

Allen was wearing hiking boots, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a wind jacket and wind pants. His hat was found Monday, near the area where he was last seen.

He had no food or water with him, but Stadelman said there are natural water sources in the search area, which consists of about 10 square miles of often steep and brush-covered terrain.

There is no way of telling how Allen — who has the mental capacity of a 3- or 4-year-old — might react in this situation, said Stadelman.

“Obviously this is something none of us has ever been through and certainly Jacob hasn’t either,” he said.

Jim and Karen Allen went out several times with rescue crews but stayed only for brief periods so they could be ready to go to their son when needed, said Stadelman.

“We don’t want them to be far away when we find him,” he said. “We want to get them to him as quickly as possible.”

The couple brought their son’s pillowcase for rescue dogs to sniff, hoping the animals could pick up his scent. Helicopters are also being used in the search.

On Monday night, crews of about 45 people combed the trails in the Randolph County section of the wilderness area, which is in the Monongahela National Forest, deliberately lighting campfires to make themselves visible in case Jacob Allen was nearby.

While Allen is described as severely autistic by his mother, Stadelman said, he is in good physical shape and likes to hike. The family visits Dolly Sods a couple times a year, Stadelman said.

While the Allens have declined to speak directly with reporters, Jim Allen released a statement Tuesday thanking the community for the “outpouring of support.”

“We just appreciate it all so much and thank them for their participation and their prayers and we ask that they continue praying.”