Hunky action adventure star Harrison Ford took his on-screen persona into real life on Tuesday when he rescued a 13-year-old Boy Scout lost in America’s Yellowstone National Park.
The actor, who is a part-time resident of the neighbouring community of Jackson, had volunteered his flying skills and Bell 407 helicopter after the youngster became lost when he wandered off a trail into the secluded wilderness around 2pm on Monday. The emergency services, who were contacted when the Utah Scout still had not been found the following morning, called upon the services of the veteran actor, who has taken part in similar missions in the past.
At 8:30am, after two hours in the air, 59-year-old Harrison, accompanied by a fellow searcher, discovered the boy about ten miles from the scout camp. Clad in just a t-shirt, shorts and sandals, Cody Clawson had spent the night sheltering from the rain under a rock outcropping. “Boy, you sure must have earned a merit badge for this one,” joked the actor to the cold, tired and damp Scout. “I already earned that badge last summer,” shot back Cody, who planned to resume the trip which ends on Saturday.
The Boy Scout’s mother said: “Cody said the kids asked if he got an autograph and he said, ‘No, but I got a hug and a handshake, and that’s better than an autograph’.”
This is the second time the Indiana Jones star has stepped into the breach. Last August, in another chopper rescue, he came to the aid of Sarah George, a hiker who was unable to get back down Wyoming’s Table Mountain after being overcome by altitude sickness and dehydration.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
