A missing hunter was found alive by other sportsmen in California’s Sierra National Forest after 20 days in the wilderness.
Family members first reported Ron Dailey, a resident of Selma, 165 miles southeast of San Jose, missing on Oct. 13 after he failed to return home from a hunting trip, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.
The other hunters finally found him Saturday on the Swamp Lake trail, part of the Sierra National Forest.
Mr. Dailey, 65, had gone without much sustenance for about six days. Once they found him, he “started hugging them and praying,” he said, according to ABC News.
Mr. Dailey’s problems started when his truck got stuck and broke down due to the terrain, Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said on Facebook.
“I went over this thing, and it was scraping bottom. I looked up, the tree in front of it, it said Diamond Road, jeep road. That means you’d better have a rock crawler. I don’t have a rock crawler,” Mr. Dailey told Fresno’s KFSN-TV.
Though his truck could no longer operate, it still functioned as shelter. Mr. Dailey used it as such and survived on a supply of food he brought with him, Mr. Magsig said, before he had to find a way back.
“You either try to walk out or you’re going to sit here and die,” Mr. Dailey told the TV station, adding that he had been stuck at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.
Mr. Magsig said Mr. Dailey walked about 12 miles down from where he got stuck.
Mr. Dailey’s daughter Breanna Vargas told local news site GV Wire that her father “has 50-plus years of experience with hunting, so we know if he broke down or something happened to his vehicle he’s hunkering down and just waiting it out.”
Mr. Dailey was not seriously injured, but was a “little beat up” by his 12-mile hike.
