This time, the hundreds of volunteer searchers who combed the forest, the river and the seemingly endless mountain terrain were successful and we commend them. This time, the weather did not turn cold and wet. This time, a family cried for joy and not for grief.

This pure joy at finding someone so precious who had so suddenly disappeared was shared, first among the searchers on ATVs, on horseback and on foot, and then with the whole community. Finding Brennan, who wandered from a Boy Scout mountain camp Friday, makes us all feel good. Happy endings do that for us.

The feeling is especially welcome after a similar search in the Uintas last August had a heart-wrenching conclusion. Twelve-year-old Garrett Bardsley, lost while camping with his Boy Scout troop, has not been found. Two years ago, a mother from Florida and her daughter, from Georgia, failed to return from a trip to the Uintas. Their remains were discovered nine months later.

When children go missing in the wild, no matter the outcome, there is always much second-guessing about what could, or should, have been done. The question is always asked, often with great heat: How could anyone have allowed this to happen? There must be someone to blame.

Sometimes there is, but not always. Most parents know how quickly a child, even under the most caring and vigilant supervision, can disappear in the space of a glance away. And that ever-present danger is greatly enhanced in unfamiliar and unforgiving terrain like the High Uintas.

So it is useful, once again, to allow hindsight to remind us of the things we should already know, and do, before taking youngsters into the Great Outdoors. Among them: Teach children to stay put if they become lost; equip them with basic survival equipment, even around camp, including a whistle to alert searchers and a lighter with which to build a smoky fire; teach them how to find shelter, to build a safe fire and to stay dry.

Going into the wilderness can be a valuable learning experience for children. Learning how to survive is the first and most important lesson of all. And it is a lesson best learned, and re-learned, before you pack up and go.