A man who went missing for nine days in the Canadian wilderness survived by drinking pond water and fashioning a shelter from wood and mud, search and rescue teams have said.
Andrew Barber was found after he carved the word ‘HELP’ into a rock and ‘SOS’ into the mud to help rescuers find him.
The 39-year-old was reported missing on 31 July after his pick-up truck broke down in the vast and boggy Cariboo region of British Columbia in Canada. He was recovered on 8 August, severely dehydrated and with an injured leg.
“He was in poor health, he was having a hard time standing,” Bob Zimmerman, from Quesnel Search and Rescue, told CBC News. “I don’t know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him.”
A picture posted online by Quesnel Search and Rescue shows the makeshift shelter that Mr Barber built for himself out of wood and mud, which features the shelter leaning up against a rock with the word "Help" scrawled on it.
He was found by rescuers and flown to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake for treatment. Rescuers said he has now been discharged and is doing “quite well,” but that the outcome could have been very different.
"He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated," Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon of the Williams Lake Royal Canadian Mounted Police McKinnon, told Canadian Press News. "The human body can go a long time without food, but water is a different situation.
"I'll put it this way — had we not found him when we did, I would have had graver concerns than I currently do," he added. "We had been at this for nine days, and it was essentially like looking for a needle in a haystack. The Cariboo region of British Columbia is beautiful, but it is immense, and there are tons of rural and wilderness areas."
In a post on their Facebook page, Quesnel Search and Rescue wrote: “After over a week in the wilderness, our subject has been located alive during today’s search from the air.
“This outcome is the result of countless hours on the ground and in the air, using every resource and piece of technology available to us. Quesnel Search and Rescue is on call 24/7, 365 days a year — and our entire team is made up of dedicated volunteers who give their time, skills, and heart to help those in need.
“We want to extend our deepest thanks to our partners: RCMP, PEP Air, and BC Emergency Health Services for their outstanding support in bringing this search to a successful conclusion.Today’s result is why we train, why we respond, and why we never give up.”
