Found Alive OR - Nathan Mitchell, 34, Wildwood Recreation Area, Mount Hood, 21 Oct 2017

[ElementalLaura]

Great news!

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

WHEW!!!! So glad he is walking - that is a good sign IMO. 5 days is a while when you're not ready for it.

 

[Koshka]

Fantastic! I'm so glad to hear the good news. Job well done, searchers!

 

[flute4peace]

"Mountain Wave reported that Mitchell was found safe in the Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness, several miles from where his car was parked.

Initial reports say he was found by a friend that he'd known since 3rd grade. She was with a group on the trail, calling his name when he answered.

He was found sitting on a log about 100 feet off of the trail, a Mountain Wave Search & Rescue member tells KATU News."

http://katu.com/news/local/hiker-found-safe-in-mt-hood-natl-forest-after-going-missing-for-5-days

Goosebumps! What a wonderful surprise. Can you imagine how they both must have felt hearing each others' voices? I'm SO thrilled for everyone involved!

Sent from my SCH-I435L using Tapatalk

 

[moonstone]

(photo of Nate being found, from Pat Dooris' twitter account)


Video update on Nate's condition, etc:
http://katu.com/news/local/hiker-found-safe-in-mt-hood-natl-forest-after-going-missing-for-5-days


Press conference w/parents telling more details on what occured (scroll down to 2nd video on page, the first one is from earlier in the day)

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/missing-portland-hiker-found-alive-after-5-days-in-wilderness/486318944

 

[whitelilac]

Thanks for the link.

I watched both videos...what an amazing group of searchers, from all over. Incredible that the two boy scout friends happened to see some vapor, and went to investigate. There he was.

The family PC was incredible to hear.

So he hunkered down from the storm, rolled down an embankment while sleeping, became disoriented, tried to follow a creek as he was taught to do though in this instance it was the wrong thing to do....climbed back up, couldn't find the trail, developed painful trench foot....drank from a stream (was surprised he had taken only one bottle of water!)....wow, I wish him a quick recovery, both physically and emotionally.

He has an amazing family and a lot of caring friends.

 

[Elainera]

Lucky guy! Very glad to see a happy ending here for once.

 

[ElementalLaura]

I'm looking forward to watching the videos & am grateful that he shared his story. It's always good to be reminded to be prepared. So relieved that there's a happy ending.

 

[GigTu]

:happydance: I miss so glad for this happy ending. The smartest thing he did was stop and wait, even though that was probably also the hardest decision. I'm delighted to hear a positive outcome for a change.

 

[moonstone]

'I wanted to live': Hiker shares how he survived 5 days in the wilderness

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/i-wanted-to-live-hiker-shares-how-he-survived-5-days-in-the-wilderness/486713415

He decided on the Boulder Ridge Trail at the last minute, not even telling his wife, one of his many mistakes he now admits.

Mitchell's father found his car only after convincing Subaru to locate it electronically.

Mitchell made it to the top of the Boulder Ridge Trail, a steep climb stretching over seven miles.

But on the way down, he took a wrong turn and as the storm hit and he tried to shelter under a tree. He set his backpack on the ground, and put his hands up under his shirt into his armpits for warmth.

It worked fine until he lost his balance. He couldn’t get his arms out in time to stop and fell down a steep hill.

“It wasn’t a real extreme tumble,” he said.

“It was like bark dust and it was sliding but that was a big turning point in the whole trip because I bumped my back. It’s just a bruising there now but I thought in my head, 'You know I’m an injury lawyer, oh that's a herniated disc. No. It's back strain. I hit my head--that’s a concussion--no I just bumped my head.' And I crawled back up but that’s when I lost my backpack and that’s when I started panicking, losing hope,” he said.

At some point after his climb back up he bumped the backpack and it rolled further down the hill, and in the darkness, Mitchell couldn’t see it. It was gone.

The backpack held his cell phone, extra food and coat.

He wouldn’t eat for the next four and a half days. He drank water from streams that he followed down the mountain.

Over the next couple days he began yelling.

“It started with hello and then turned into help," he said.

 

[JazzTune]

This is such wonderful news!! Could not be happier for this man, his family, and friends.

Thank you, moonstone, for the links and for keeping us posted.

I am over the moon for all of you!