My hometown of Benton is surrounded by half a million acres of untouched forest that are rich with game and hold untold natural treasures. Hidden in these forests are dozens and dozens of small deer camps that at most can boost a dozen voting members. The supporting these scattered little camps are dozens of small businesses. I would even say, many merchants even depend on the yearly influx of hunters to balance their books. I say all of this, because I myself am a hunter.

I've been in the woods all my life, I also consider myself an avid outdoorsman. I'm a Life Scout and I'm working toward my Eagle Badge. Now, allow me to mention something else before I continue my tale. There is a proud tradition of warning fables that are passed down from one generation of hunters to another. One fable tells of a young man who had just celebrated his twelve birthday and thus would be allowed to attend his first hunt. Something of a rite of passage here in Benton. According to the legend, the boy's uncle set the boy in the bend of a creek, one of the many nameless creeks that feed into Wilson Creek. Here deer were known to come down from the hills and get a drink of cool water. The boy's uncle was sure her would get him a deer here. The boy's uncle warned him not to stray too far and to keep his eyes and ears open. The boy nodded his head and watched his uncle vanish into the brush searching for his own place to lay low.

The boy though, did not heed his uncle's words and started to wander off in search of a new hunting spot. A few hours passed, and his uncle returned to collect the boy. But the boy was gone, in a panic his uncle started to search for the boy, pacing up and down the creek bank, calling out his name. Frantically he enlisted the aid of other hunters, who brought in their friends and family. Finally somebody contacted the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office brought out some tracking hounds. But the hounds could not pick up the scent of the boy. It was like he just vanished into thin air. The search went cold after a few days and after a week it was called off. Not a trace of the boy was ever found.

Now in this day and age, when everyone has a cellphone that can connect to the internet it's hard to phantom that somebody could go roaming in the woods and never be heard from again. We'll I'm here to tell you that it happens from time to time in Benton. There are some places in the woods that the careless foot of man has not trodden in a generation or so.

Anyway my stories begin during the opening day of hunting season. The air was cool and script, a hard frost had fallen the night before and still clung to the grass. The grass crunched under the heel of my boot. It was cold enough that ones breath turned to smoke in front of them. I was having a rotten time, I had been in the woods some five and a half hours and in those five and a half hours, I had not seen anything save a large dog or wolf. Anyway I was following a small creek, okay it was more like a stream that snaked its way through the forest. I knew this stream would lead me to a larger creek and that creek was known as a popular spot for deer to come out and get themselves an early morning drink.

It was my hope that by following this tiny stream of water, I would encounter a deer worthy of shooting. This might sound cruel, but the harvesting of deer art from here in the rustic south. Anyway, as I picked my way through the undergrowth, pushing away branches heavy with ice, and trying to watch my step as a number of rotten logs dotted the trails, I noticed something. Something that caught my eye.

Sitting on a log was a boy, a few years younger than me. I noticed he was dressed in kind of dated clothing. He had a gun, an older model shotgun by the look of it. And he seemed tired. By the looks of it, he might have spent a very cold night out here in the woods along. Thinking nothing of it, I walked up to the boy and sat down beside him on the log.

“You lost?” I asked him.

The boy nodded his head and just peered at me, his eyes seemed glazed over. The tip of his fingers were a blueish color and he seemed quite speechless.

“We'll then.” I said nodding my head. “I know this neck of the woods like the back of my hand. I'm sure I can guide us out of this mess.” I fully intended to guide this little boy out of the woods. Once we were out of the woods, I would place a few calls. The boy needed to see a doctor. And for a fleeting moment I wandered if an amber alert had been placed for him.

To this the boy just nodded his head again.

Slowly I stood up and brushed off the front of my trousers.

“We'll come along now.” I said as I offered my hand to the boy. He took it and it was cold as ice water. Slowly the boy lifted himself up from the rotten log. And like a lost puppy he started to follow behind me. I guided him through the woods, we both walked in silence. Fifteen or twenty minutes passed in this manner, I tried to make conversation, something to break the ice. You know the normal questions like “What is your name?” and “Were you from kid?” but the only answer he gave was silence. Finally I gave up on talking and focused on getting us out of the woods.

Like I said before fifteen or so minutes passed before we reached a clearing. I was pretty happy, the boy was starting to give me the creeps. There was something unnatural about him. Anyway once we reached the clearing, I was sure I could get a signal on my phone and I could place the calls I needed. And so with the end in sight, I turned toward the boy and in a friendly manner I said.

“Hey buddy.” I said nodding my head toward the clearing. “We've made it.” And to my bewilderment the boy had just vanished. I could have sworn he was just standing beside me no more than a few minutes ago. It was like he had just disappeared into thin air. Then it dawned on me, the old urban legend, a chill passed over me and the woods became silent as the grave. I had just seen a ghost.. shivering I stepped into the clearing. I avoid that section of the woods for the rest of the season. And like the old field just north of town, I try to avoid going anywhere near them. Now what you make of this story is up to you? Did I really encounter the fabled 'Vanishing Hunter' or is this just another good campfire story. That is for you to decide.