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New hunt on for missing teen
by NADINE PARKS

Originally Published on 2/28/98
Page: B1
Keyword: Missing; Teenager

 YEAR-OLD CASE: Kevin McClam has been missing from the Naval Weapons Station since last Easter.
 
GOOSE CREEK - Police have planned a massive search with hundreds of volunteers to find Kevin McClam, the teen who disappeared from the Charleston Naval Weapons Station nearly a year ago. ``I need as many people as I can get. Hundreds may not be enough,'' said Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Dan McCarthy, who will lead the all-out search along with Chief Rick Metzler of the Charleston County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad. McCarthy met Friday with representatives from several local and state agencies to organize what Metzler described as a sloppy, nasty, snake-infested exploration of the weapons station. ``It's not going to be a fun walk,'' Metzler said.

He said the four- to eight-day plan - which was prompted by new clues provided by two reputable physics - will begin perhaps as early as Wednesday and will be conducted in three phases.
First, rescue divers will search and drag dozens of water wells, ditches, creeks and ponds, and lower side-scan sonar devices into watery areas.

Next, tracking and cadaver dogs from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and others used in major catastrophes, such as the Oklahoma City bombing, will cover hundreds of acres in and around the base's Marrington Plantation, a 17th-century rice plantation. The search will end with a massive land exploration by volunteers on foot and police officers on horseback.
Among those who participated in the Friday meeting were representatives of the rescue squad, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the North Charleston and Goose Creek police departments, the Navy's investigative service, base security and the Natural Resources Department. Police searched some areas last year. This time, they will go over the same areas and explore the vicinity as well. McClam, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Marrington Middle School, disappeared March 30, Easter Sunday, from his home at the base. A couple reportedly saw him later that day, walking along a dirt road in tennis shoes and boxer shorts. Two days later, his clothing was found nearby. McCarthy said there are no signs the teen who loved to play basketball ran away from home. ``There was nothing so dramatic that would make him run away,'' McCarthy said, adding that McClam was a good student. His disappearance was followed by half a dozen reported sightings, mostly at local McDonald's and Burger King restaurants. But the last sighting came May 19, and information provided by psychic Dorothy Allison of New Jersey and local psychic Elizabeth Baron indicates McClam may still be on the base. Whether McClam is still alive, however, is a subject police are tiptoeing around out of respect for his parents, Charles and Tracey McClam. Charles said Friday the massive search should have come one year ago. ``I can't criticize though,'' he said. ``I just appreciate the help.'' VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Police need hundreds of volunteers, especially hunters and other people familiar with the hazards of maneuvering through snake-infested forests and swamps. Call Dan McCarthy at 764-7800, Ext.