A hiker in the US who was lost on a mountain for two weeks was finally saved after being found by a couple, something he dubbed a ‘Thanksgiving miracle’.
Allison Scott said she and boyfriend Freddie Valdivia decided to go camping in the San Bernardino National Forest, Southern California, on 24 November - the day after Thanksgiving.
They headed to a remote spot between Big Bear Lake and Angelus Oaks, but found that their trip was to take an unexpected turn when they heard something.
"We were underneath a flight path and an airplane went by pretty low and we heard someone yelling for help," Scott told ABC7.
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It transpired that that someone was a hiker called Eric, who had been lost in the wilderness for two weeks.
"We end up finding him, and my boyfriend is looking over the ridge and calling out, 'Hey I see you,'" Scott recalled.
"He had a stick with a water bottle on it trying to signal. He couldn't walk. His feet were extremely swollen and infected just from walking so much, and possibly the cold where he was."
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Eric told the couple that he was from Oceanside in San Diego County, and that after getting lost he had survived off half a jar of salsa.
Scott added: “When we did find him, he said, ‘It’s a Thanksgiving miracle!’”
After Scott and Valdivia called 911, a helicopter arrived within just 15 minutes to rescue the stranded hiker.
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Thankfully, he seems to be doing well – but clearly feels sheepish for disrupting the pair’s camping trip.
Scott continued: "He said he doesn't have a cellphone. We have his landline phone and he said, 'Whenever you're in Oceanside, I'll take you out to dinner. Just give me a call'.
"He also said, 'I'm very sorry for putting a damper on your camping trip', and I said, 'I'm just glad you're OK. I'm glad we found you'."
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In another interview with NBC Los Angeles, Scott said it had taken her and Valdivia about 30 minutes to hike to Eric’s location after hearing his cries for help, due to the rugged terrain of the area.
They eventually found him in a creek bed, looking ‘pretty out of it’.
"He was obviously starving, he wasn't super dehydrated because he was drinking creek water,” she explained.
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“But he told us he had taken a cab up and was hiking up to Big Bear from Angelus Oaks and he had gotten lost and he had been trying to find somebody to help him for days.”
Scott added: “He showed me the area where he was sleeping and the little home that he had built.
“He was pretty close to a creek and right under a flight path so he started camping out there hoping somebody would notice him and he said he had given up a few days prior.”
Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman