Along the way, the scouts build a makeshift radio and learn who Max truly is. They lace his water with sleeping pills and use smoke signs to signal their location to Erickson. Max ends up sedated, but Palmer handcuffs Erickson to a tree and captures Max alone, promising the scouts a rescue helicopter, but the suspicious scouts follow in secret. Max awakens and Palmer leads him to a helicopter, where Max discovers Bragdon is alive and is revealed that he is a criminal and that Palmer is one of his henchman and their plan was to steal the laundered money from the authorities and Bragdon faking his death after coming under suspicion in order to frame Max. Before they can kill Max, the scouts intervene and knock Palmer out, but Max falls into the river and the scouts follow. They reach safety and throw their backpacks in the river to drive Palmer and Bragdon off. Out of supplies, the scouts decide to remain with Max and help him reach Devil's Peak. Meanwhile, one of the scouts' mothers, Mrs. Patterson (Ann Dowd) uncovers Max's discarded tissue and realizes that he is leading them to Devil's Peak, and gives chase in her van when Palmer's bumbling assistant, Agent McMurrey (Thomas Mills Wood), refuses to help her. She arrives first, but is captured by Bragdon.