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100 Marines Join Search for 12-Year-Old Scout

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About 100 Marines from the El Toro Marine Base joined the search for 12-year-old Jared Negrete on Wednesday, bringing to more than 200 the number of searchers picking through a treacherous, rock-strewn 22-square-mile patch of the San Bernardino National Forest.

The El Monte Boy Scout has been missing since July 19, when he became separated from other Scouts while on an overnight hike near the top of 11,500-foot San Gorgonio Mountain.

The odds that the boy is still alive grow worse daily, search leaders said at their command post at the Angelus Oaks Fire Station. But they said the search effort will continue at least through the weekend.

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Rain on Tuesday and Wednesday slowed the search, but trackers said they were hopeful that fresh mud would produce fresh tracks. “If he’s moving, he may leave new footprints,” San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy Debra Dorrough said.

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