be stumped

北海道の七飯町の山林でしつけのため置き去りにされ、行方不明になった小学２年生の男の子の捜索が続けられていますが、いまだ発見には至っていません。

Japanese boy left in woods as punishment still missing

Heavy rain and a lack of clues hampered Japanese rescuers as they spent a fourth day searching for a 7-year-old boy left by his parents on a mountain road as punishment.

Thunderstorms terminated the 10-hour search Tuesday for missing Yamato Tanooka on Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido. An official offered a bleak assessment because of the time the lightly clad boy has been exposed to the elements.

"The crucial 72 hours' limit for the survival has passed," rescue team spokesman Satoshi Saito told CNN. "The outlook could be severe ... but we can do nothing but continue looking with a hope in mind."

Two hunters joined the 117-member rescue team after some members thought they found bear droppings. The area near Nanae-cho, Hokkaido, in the country's north, is known to be home to wild bears. The hunters concluded the sign came from smaller animals, Saito said.

The search started at dawn Tuesday and was extended along the road north toward Mount Komagatake, a 1,131-meter (3,710-feet) volcano, from the point where the boy was left, according to the officials.

Officials admit they are stumped. Saito said the expansion of the search toward the mountain was at the parents' request.

"We do not think the little boy chose to go into the forest, so we focus on the area along the road connecting from where he was left," Saito said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/31/asia/japan-boy-woods/index.html

今回取り上げる表現は、“be stumped”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、“stumped”で「[be ~]〈人が〉«答えなどに»困って、困り果てて«for»」とあり、“I’m stumped.”「お手上げだ」という例文が示されていました。

ちなみに、“stump”を他動詞として用いる場合、第一義に「(難しい質問などが)〈人を〉困らせる、困惑させる」という意味がありました(『ウィズダム英和辞典』)。“stump”と聞くとまず「切り株」という意味が思い浮かびますが、他にも様々な意味で用いられる単語なので、ぜひ辞書などで調べてみてください。

今回の場合、「捜索活動に進展がなく、お手上げ状態である」などと解釈できるのではないかと思います。(Blue Sky)