Monday, June 10, 2019

Missing hiker found alive after 6 days in woods

 
a man standing in front of a mountain: Lost Arkansas hiker, Joshua McClatchy, is shown in this undated photo.© Miranda Balduf/Facebook Lost Arkansas hiker, Joshua McClatchy, is shown in this undated photo.
Searchers in rural Arkansas are celebrating Saturday after missing hiker Josh McClatchy was found alive one week after he went missing in the woods of Polk County.
McClatchy, 37, was reported missing on June 1 after he went on a hike in the Caney Creek Wilderness area, but ended up getting lost. The Texas native texted his mother to say he needed help, but cellphone service was spotty at best and he was unable to give much help as to his location.
Those texts a week ago were the last anyone had heard from McClatchy until Friday night.
After weather and timing issues, search-and-rescue crews finally had a good window for a National Guard helicopter, equipped with infrared technology, to locate McClatchy, according to Polk County Sheriff Scott Sawyer.
Sawyer said McClatchy is in good shape and good spirits, but he is dehydrated.
He was transported to Mena Regional Health System in Mena, Arkansas, for further evaluation. McClatchy's parents and sister, who regularly posted search updates on a Facebook page, are with him at the hospital.
The crew spotted McClatchy from the chopper within 30 minutes of beginning the search, but it took the search team an hour by foot to reach his location about 3 miles into the Caney Creek Wilderness area. He was off the trail when he was located, according to Sawyer.
It took about four hours for the rescuers to carry him out on a one-wheeled rescue cart
The rescue team consisted of about 35 people in total, Sawyer said.
He went missing on the mountainous Buckeye Trail, which is in the wilderness area east of Mena, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. His car was found at the Buckeye trailhead, authorities said.
Lost hikers are common in that area, but they are usually found within a few hours, according to the sheriff.
ABC News' Nick Cirone contributed to this report.
end quote from:
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)