YOUTHS' ADVENTURE

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3303, 14 May 1931, Page 5

YOUTHS' ADVENTURE

FAIL TO RETURN HOME. SEARCH PARTIES SENT OUT. A party of three Te Kuiti lads whose ages range from 12 to 15 years, and who were missing from their homes at nightfall yesterday, were responsible for a lot of anxiety on the part of their parents and the instituting of search parties, which found them about one o'clock this morning safe and sound in an abandoned whare on the hills to the west of Te Kuiti, between Hetet's and Somerville's properties. The youths set out about noon yesterday to explore for some caves, and when the trio failed to put in appearance last night search parties, comprising the respective parents of the lads, set out, followed later by another organised by the Fire Brigade. The parties came upon the youths in an abandoned whare, and on arrive! were, to their surprise, asked to partake of a supper comprising tea, sandwiches and roasted potatoes. Evidence that the lads did not intend to return that night, is contained in the fact that they went fully prepared, in so far as provisions were concerned, while beds of straw, with sacks for blankets, were commissioned. When informed by the searchers that they must return home the party was crestfallen. Be it said, that the searchers suffered greater hardship as the result of scrambling through blackberries and gorse than did the lads, who were entirely unappreciative of the effort that had been made on their behalf. When the search parties commenced to return by the difficult route which they had come further humour was added to the situation when the lads calmly informed their benefactors of a much shorter route homewards.