Men Locate Scouts Near Pettys Pond

Three Norwood boys who were the object of a wide search by police, firemen, and civil defense volunteers for over 4 hours late Tuesday night, were found safe in the woods near Petty’s Pond at 12:35 a.m. yesterday morning just as the Norwood police were about to continue the search with the aid of a State Police bloodhound.

The three hoys, Richard Parke, 11, son of Rev. and Mrs. John H. Parke of Grace Episcopal Church; Henry Ferri, 12, and Hugh Nichols, 13, became lost In the woods while on a hike and they gave the Norwood police, their parents and volunteer searchers several anxious hours before being found.

It all started early Tuesday morning when the Ferri boy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ferri of 12 Bond street, a Boy Scout troop leader of Troop 43 at the United Church, went to the residence of Rev. John H. Parke to obtain a letter of recommendation for advancement as a Boy Scout. Knowing that Richard Parke, the Rector’s son, was due to take a 5-mile hike to qualify for his hiking honors, he and the Parke boy decided to take the hike that very morning. They met the Nichols boy, son of Mr and Mrs. Francis Nichols of 33 Lincoln street, and he decided to go along too.

They all took several sandwiches and were due to arrive home at noon and then go to the movies together.

When the boys failed to return for luncheon, their parents reasoned that they had gone directly to the movies after taking a little too long on their hike, and their absence caused no particular concern until after supper time.

When none of the boys had returned home by 8:00 p.m., a conference among the now anxious parents resulted in Norwood police being notified Mindful that the boys were to take their hike in the vicinity of Ellis, Willett, and Petty’s Ponds, the parents, now alarmed, feared that they might have fallen into the ice-coated water of one of the ponds and perished.

Police Chief Mark Folan was notified of the absence of the boys and their parents. Civil Defense Auxiliary police and radio men, members of the Norwood Sportsmen’s Association, and volunteers who heard of their absence, all joined in a search of the area.

Both the Walpole and Westwood police departments came to the scene and offered their assistance and both the Norwood and Walpole fire departments also sent crews o( men with portable lighting units to Ellis Pond to aid in the search.

As the hours dragged on and there was no word of the whereabouts of the boys, the tension mounted and the facts of their disappearance were broadcast over the police teletype system to the police of all the surrounding towns and to the State police. Police Chief Mark Folan of Norwood had just completed arrangements for “Big Sid”, the famed State police bloodhound, to enter the search when word was flashed to the Norwood police station that they had been found in the woods in the rear of Petty’s Pond, alive and safe but somewhat ohiUy and decidedly hungry

The boys were found by Auxiliary Policemen Robert Nelson, Spruce road; Roger Kral, Winter street, and the father of the Nichols boy who had tramped through the woods for hours in search of the trio.

The boys said that they became lost at about 3:00 p.m. and decided to make a lean-to just where they were and wait it out for someone to find them. All are students at the Norwood junior high school.

Civil Defense volunteers, under the supervision of CO Director George Mahoney, were called into the search at 10.15 p.m. and Auxiliary Police under Robert Baxter, and radio operators were mobilized in about 15 minutes.