June 18: Volunteers urgently needed in search for autistic Minnesota man, 25

By MARY LYNN SMITH, Star Tribune

Last update: June 23, 2008 - 12:35 PM

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HOW TO HELP

Anyone interested in joining the search should first call Trade Lake Camp at 715-488-2690.

With precious seconds ticking away, hundreds of people desperately searched the Wisconsin woods Tuesday for a missing 25-year-old Shoreview man who they believe wants to be rescued but who won't call out even if he hears his name.

Now an appeal is going out for more volunteers.

Keith Kennedy, who is autistic and urgently in need of medication, can speak only four words and won't respond if called, said Niki Olson, who is helping with the search.

The search began Sunday evening when Kennedy wandered away from Trade Lake Camp. The camp, 7 miles south of Grantsburg, Wis., and 80 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, specializes in programs for handicapped adults.

Kennedy, who lives in a group home in Shoreview, had a kidney transplant in 1995 and takes anti-rejection drugs. By Tuesday evening, he had missed a fifth dose of medication, and doctors feared that his kidneys would begin to shut down.

The search requires hundreds of people to walk elbow-to-elbow in hopes of stumbling upon him, Olson said.

"We need people who can walk. We need people on horses. We need helicopters. And we need food for the search teams," she said.

The 80-acre camp includes woods and swamps.

As Linda Kennedy, Keith Kennedy's mother, returned to camp Tuesday evening after trudging through bogs and deep woods, her heart sank upon learning that searchers had come back without her son.

"I'm trying to hold up because everyone here is working so hard and being so nice," she said. "I'm so wanting him to be found. I realize he might not survive this. ... It's just awful. It's the worst. It's unreal. We love him so much."

Her son visits parents Bruce and Linda in Roseville every weekend, she said. He loves to cook and be read to. His favorite book? "Curious George."

And he loves to run, Linda Kennedy said. "He's always been a runner. He likes his freedom. He likes to escape, so he needs to be supervised," she said.

Keith Kennedy attended the camp last year and arrived for this year's visit on Sunday.

Anyone interested in joining the search today should first call the camp at 715-488-2690.

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788

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