Bountiful, Utah – Surrounded by his beaming family, Brennan Hawkins sat quietly Wednesday afternoon as his parents and siblings described their joy at having him home.
The 11-year-old did not speak, and after a few minutes he sat down and tucked his head into his knees. He has not shared details of his ordeal with his family, said his father, Toby Hawkins.
“I just think that he’s exhausted. He’s really tired,” he said. “I don’t think Brennan is ready to tell us.”
Looking at his son, Hawkins noted that his back and shoulders were sunburned.
“He feels comfortable in that (curled-up) position,” his father said. “I think he spent a lot of time in this position.”
Brennan did what he had been taught, his parents said Wednesday: He stayed on his trail and avoided strangers, even though they were searching for him.
His parents said Brennan had seen people searching for him on horseback and in all-terrain vehicles but avoided them because of what he had been taught.
“His biggest fear, he told me, was that someone would steal him,” Jody Hawkins said.
Brennan was found by searchers Tuesday about 2 1/2 miles west of the Boy Scout camp from which he disappeared Friday evening.
After a joyous reunion with his parents, he was taken to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City for evaluation, then released about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
His parents said doctors have told them he must have found water to drink, based on his electrolyte levels.
During the search, “we were just blessed with a calming feeling that everything was going to be OK,” said Brennan’s sister Mariah, 19. Temporarily losing Brennan showed “how big a contribution he makes to our family,” she added.
The family has discussed “the miracle factor,” Toby Hawkins said. “In Utah, temperatures can swing in such a hurry, and temperatures can change so much. Those were some of the most beautiful days we’ve had.”
At a news conference earlier Wednesday, Hawkins said that when Brennan realized he was lost, he said a prayer.
Hawkins added: “We do believe God has had a hand in everything.”
Brennan’s personality wasn’t changed by being lost, his mother said, describing him as the family tease. He was joking within minutes of seeing his parents, she said, and soon asked about a recent eBay purchase: “Mom, did my Pokémon cards arrive yet?”
Brennan, born weeks prematurely, had not initially been expected to live and today is a shy boy who has struggled socially, his mother said.
“We thought he was the most ill prepared of our five children. Now maybe he was the best prepared,” she said.
Now the Hawkinses yearn for a normal life.
“This is all very overwhelming for him, and for us,” Toby Hawkins said. “We just want to get back our sense of normalcy.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
