Teen gives his best shot

“When the call goes out the someone is missing, it’s like a shot of adrenaline and sorrow all at the same time,” said Kevin Schaffer, a Lewis and Clark High School senior who’s been involved in the Spokane Explorer Post, a search-and-rescue unit for teenagers.

“You are excited to be doing something, to be able to help, but you realize this person has a family who misses him.”

Schaffer reflected on his involvement two years ago in the search for a Spokane Valley hunter who was found dead after a five-day search in Pend Oreille County.

“You are willing to crawl on hands and knees through underbrush. Knowing the person is alone somewhere, probably colder than you are, drives you to fight past any relatively minor discomfort.

“When you find the person you are elated beyond belief. When you don’t find the person, you feel a knot in your stomach.”

But, he added, “You learn to move on.”