Missing Hiker Survived for 9 Days on Bugs, with a Broken Arm, Before Being Found in the Himalayas

People

A 44-year-old man originally from the Bay Area who went missing earlier this month while hiking in India was found alive after nine days, according to his family.

Transcript

00:00It seemed like when I jumped to the rock, it almost felt like something grabbed me and just

00:04pulled me down the mountain, man.

00:15It was only supposed to be like a two-hour hike. It was super simple. It was sunny outside.

00:20It was like we were just going up the mountain, and then there's this huge layer cloud of fog

00:25just comes over. I'm looking down. I can't see where is what anymore, and I was with these two

00:31Indian guys, but we got separated, and I'm trying to get down the mountain, and I'm getting stuck,

00:36and I'm like, okay, maybe if I hop to that rock, I can see the way down. Once I jumped to that rock,

00:42and I'm pretty sure I felt like I made a good jump. Just like got pulled down, and I literally

00:49free-falled for like three, four seconds straight through a bush, and I landed, and I realized I

00:55was conscious. My arm was like broken, and my nose was bleeding, and then I tried to stand,

01:01and I screamed in pain, so I stayed put. I tried screaming for help. I tried flashing my headlamp,

01:07and then I just realized I'm going to sleep here tonight on the edge of this cliff. When I woke up

01:13after I fell, I instinctively decided I need to get down the mountain. I couldn't rely on search and

01:20rescue team coming for me. I had no idea what they would do in India. I was super laser-focused.

01:24There was no room for negativity. I started eating the bugs. I started trying all kinds

01:31of plants. I was pissing in a bottle and drinking my own pee, and it was pretty strange to drink it

01:36in the beginning, but when you're hiking and you have no water, you're actually excited to drink

01:41your own pee. I think by day nine, it's the first time I'm getting close to this village. I can see a

01:46temple, an Indian temple the first time, and I see three guys at the temple. I just sit down,

01:52and I start screaming for an hour, like, help me, help me, please help me, and I'm trying to

01:58communicate, let them know, like, I've been lost 10 days, and thank God one of them knew English.

02:03So they come down. He literally grabs my hand, and we start—it's like a cliff, man. I'm on a cliff.

02:10There's three of us. He's literally pulling me down, and I have to keep up with his speed,

02:14and we finally get down, and we get to the temple, and that's when, like, you know, recovery people

02:20come, and after that, it was completely surreal, you know? Like, a car came. They drove me to the

02:26hospital, and then I started to realize how many people were looking for me. Sometimes you forget

02:32how many people love you, you know, in this life, and like I said, it's like—it's almost like I had a

02:38funeral, and I died, but I survived at the end, you know? So I was able to see how much love I really

02:43have from my friends and family. I'm so grateful for everyone who helped in every way possible,

02:49from the bottom of my heart.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended