NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. -- A winded and frantic scoutmaster's pleas for help are what begin a 911 call that followed a tree falling on a young camper Monday afternoon.
The scoutmaster, moving as he spoke, asked questions from those around him and tried to communicate to dispatchers the terrible moments that had just transpired in hopes of getting rescuers there as fast as possible.
"I can't see his face, all we can see is his feet," the scoutmaster said.
The scout, later identified as Elijah Knight of Cypress, Texas, was one of many in town from around the southeast celebrating a jamboree at Camp Bert Adams. Authorities now know that the 14-year-old Texan was trying to seek shelter from an oncoming storm when the wind and rain brought a tree down on his tent.
"The tree is totally on him," the scoutmaster said as he ran to find the head counselor for the Boy Scout camp.
As he got back to the child, he said there were signs of breathing but it was hard to see much else. The scoutmaster began calling to the young teenager hoping for a response but received none.
"If you can hear me, buddy, we've got help on the way," he can be heard saying in the recording.
Paramedics and firefighters soon arrived and did everything they could to save Knight. They even brought out chainsaws to cut the trunk. Sadly, they were unable to get to him in time.
“This is a very difficult time for our Scouting family. We are sad to confirm the death of one of our Scouts following a weather-related incident at Bert Adams Scout Camp," the CEO of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts, Tracy Techau said in a statement. "We offer our deepest condolences to the victim and his family, and we will support them in any way that we can."
The Atlanta Council is now working closely with the Newton County Sheriff's Office as they investigate the incident.
The storm that came through on Tuesday brought rain and also 40 to 50 mph wind gusts - enough to bring down weakened trees. However, the area was never under a severe thunderstorm warning as others were that afternoon.
According to coroner Tommy Davis, Knight's death has been ruled accidental.
