Ottie Cline Powell

Ottie Cline Powell was four years old and barefoot when he wandered away from his schoolhouse in Amherst County, Virginia while out gathering firewood in November, 1890. Despite an extensive search, his body was not found until the following spring, seven miles away, on the peak of Bluff Mountain, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, elevation 3,372 feet. It is believed, but not confirmed, that the boy, upon discovering he was lost, ran with all his might, and eventually collapsed with exhaustion and froze to death. Powell was found with the chestnuts he was given at the schoolhouse still in in his stomach, undigested, leading his examiners to conclude that he died before he digested the chestnuts, which would imply that he lived for only a few hours after he wandered off.

The monument on Bluff mountain reads:

THIS IS THE EXACT SPOT.

LITTLE OTTIE CLINE POWELL'S

BODY WAS FOUND APRIL 5, 1891, AFTER

STRAYING FROM TOWER HILL SCHOOL HOUSE

NOV. 9, A DISTANCE OF 7 MILES.

AGE 4 YEARS 11 MONTHS.

See also

• Blue Ridge Mountains

References and external links

• Photo of the plaque
• The True Story of Ottie Cline Powell

Persondata
Name	Powell, Ottie Cline
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1886
Place of birth
Date of death	1890
Place of death