Cold, scared and lonely, 12-year-old Benjamin Kellett of Powell saw helicopters pass over him several times Saturday and Sunday as their pilots and crews searched for him in the Big Horn Mountains.

He yelled and waved, but each time they flew on, apparently without seeing him.

Then, at about 7 p.m. Sunday — about 33 hours after Benjamin became separated from his Boy Scout troop during a hike in the Black Mountain area — a searcher finally spotted him.

A Blackhawk helicopter crew from the Wyoming National Guard was able to pick Benjamin up from the rugged area.

“A guy was looking out with the door open,” Benjamin told the Powell Tribune on Monday. “I waved. He saw, me, he went back; I screamed for help.”

Benjamin said he walked a bit, then “fell asleep.”

“When I woke up,” Benjamin said, “he was right next to me, trying to wake me up.”

“I think he must have fainted,” said his mother, Kelly Kellett. “He woke up and he was already harnessed in, and they hoisted him into the helicopter — which he said was terrifying, because he is afraid of heights.”

“We both were on the weird thingy (harness), and it took us up into the helicopter,” Benjamin said. “When I opened my eyes, we were inside the helicopter. The guy gave me some water and some snacks, and the helicopter took me to a place where the ambulance was waiting for me.”

Kelly said Benjamin was transferred to the ambulance at the Sheridan airport, then the ambulance took him to Sheridan Memorial Hospital. He was released a couple hours later with a clean bill of health.

Benjamin’s ordeal began Saturday morning when he walked ahead of the other Scouts in his group. His troop and another troop were hiking and camping in the Black Mountain Lookout area. The closest town was Dayton, around 20 miles away.

“On Saturday, while hiking up to the lookout, (Benjamin) pressed ahead of the group, out of their line of sight,” according to a prepared statement from the Boy Scouts of America. “Relatives of the young man were present and did not think this behavior was unusual; however, when they returned to camp, they realized that he was unaccounted for and immediately sought help. One of the adults hiked down the mountain and encountered a (Forest) Service official, who called the authorities.”

Lt. Allen Thompson of the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office said notice was received of the missing boy at 2:47 p.m. and activated its Search and Rescue team.

The search also involved the U.S. Forest Service, Johnson County Search and Rescue, air assets with the Wyoming State Forestry Division and the Wyoming National Guard, Big Horn County Search and Rescue, and K-9 search teams from Douglas and Cody, Thompson said. 

Kelly said she didn’t learn that their son was missing until late Saturday afternoon.

Robert Quintana of Gillette, council president for the Greater Wyoming Council of Boy Scouts of America, said the Blackhawk helicopter, from the Wyoming National Guard in Cheyenne, joined the search in the early evening on Sunday.

“The Blackhawk wasn’t there very long,” Kelly said. “It found him quickly once they got there.”

Thompson said Benjamin actually was spotted first by a helicopter crew with the Wyoming State Forestry Division. He was in rugged terrain in the Wolf Creek drainage a few miles southeast of Black Mountain.

“The National Guard air crew in the area was able to get the boy and transport him to the Sheridan County Airport, as nightfall was approaching and ground crews were not in the immediate vicinity,” Thompson said.

It turned out that Benjamin had walked farther than searchers had estimated he would, Kelly said.

“They finally found him 2 miles outside of the search area,” she said.

Benjamin recalled spending Saturday night on the mountain without extra clothing or shelter.

“I was freezing,” he said.

Kelly said he was dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants. Since he had no shelter, “he found a big rock as a windbreak and sat down and waited out the night,” she said.

Thompson said temperatures in the area dropped to the low 30s Saturday night, but the weather remained fairly calm through the night.

Searchers, family members and friends rejoiced when Benjamin was found, alive, safe and sound.

Though doctors determined Benjamin was healthy, he was exhausted.

His father, David Kellett, said Benjamin slept well into the morning on Monday.

“We took him home around 9:30 p.m. (Sunday),” David said in a Facebook post Monday morning. “He was happy, chipper and just our typical Benjamin.”

By early Monday afternoon Benjamin was awake, but “I’m a little tired,” he told the Tribune.

His parents also were feeling the after-effects of the experience.

“It was pretty stressful,” David said.

From now on, Benjamin said he doesn’t plan to go on any campout without “a whistle, my mom and my dad.”

Kelly Kellett said she and David thank “everybody — people who brought food to our other kids, a lot of search and rescue teams, equipment and dogs. A lot of people were praying for him, and we really appreciate that. Mostly, we’re just thankful to God that he’s OK.”