A 70-year-old hiker was found alive Wednesday after being missing for five days in the Sierra Nevada wilderness.
Authorities said Warren Elliott was discovered around 8 a.m. by another hiker passing by the Hell Hole Reservoir in California, about 10 miles west of Lake Tahoe.
Shocking footage shows an exhausted man in tattered clothes clutching a water bottle at a command center at Homewood Mountain Resort, before embracing relieved family members after being finally transported by helicopter to safety.
Footage showed Elliott miraculously walking unaided, prompting thunderous applause and cheers from bewildered rescuers.
He was also given back his beloved cowboy hat, which he had left behind during what he had intended to be a short, leisurely walk.
The tenacious hiker said he was familiar with the area but took a wrong turn on Friday around 3pm when he was involved in the tragic accident.
He had been camping in Rubicon Springs with a group working on rehabilitating trails ahead of an upcoming car event dubbed the Jeepers Jamboree, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Elliott survived five gruelling days by drinking water from the river and eating foraged berries.
“The distance in a crow fold from the spot where he was last seen near Cadillac Hill to Hell Hole Reservoir where he was found is approximately nine miles, but he walked much more than that in five days.” the sheriff’s office said.
“Mr Elliot was not injured and is in good health.”
Elliott’s disappearance sparked a massive search that involved as many as 100 rescuers a day, Blackhawk helicopters, drones, dogsleds and ATVs.
Jeepers Jamboree staff also lent a hand, providing food for the rescuers and a place to camp overnight.
Elliott’s story of survival comes just days after a missing 75-year-old retired teacher was found alive after being trapped in a swamp for four days.
Mike Altmeyer was walking through a forest in Maine when he slipped on moss and fell down an embankment.
