Fathers Day 2005 was not a joyful day for Toby Hawkins of Bountiful, Utah. His 11-year-old son Brennan Hawkins had been missing for two days. A much-anticipated excursion at a Boy Scout camp in the rugged Uinta Mountains had turned tragic. Somewhere between the camp's artificial climbing wall and the chow hall, Brennan had become separated from the others.

In spite of 3,000 volunteers joining with law enforcement search-and-rescue units to comb the windswept wilderness area 100 miles northeast of the Hawkins' home, there was no trace of the boy. As day three of the fruitless search gave way to day four, hope began to bow to reality. An 11-year-old without food or shelter in the dangerous outdoors could not survive indefinitely.

Forrest Nunley, like millions of other Americans, learned of Brennan's disappearance on the news over the weekend. Making himself available to join in the effort, the 43-year-old housepainter from Salt Lake City took Tuesday off from work and drove nearly two hours to the search area. But instead of looking in the region where the search had been focused the previous four days, Nunley drove his ATV about five miles away from the camp. By midday, he made the discovery countless people had been praying for.

''I turned a corner, and there was a kid standing in the middle of the trail. He was all muddy and wet from walking over wet ground," Nunley said.

Having discovered Brennan, the willing volunteer picked up his cell phone and was relieved to get a signal. He dialed 911 to report his find. It was a call that would precipitate a corporate sigh of relief and prayers of thanks. One man's decision to be used on a mission feared doomed was the link that saved Brennan Hawkins's life.