A man who was missing in the Canadian wilderness for nine days survived by drinking pond water and designing an animal shelter in front of wood and mud and rescue teams.
Andrew Barber was found after cutting the word “help” into a rock and “SOS” into the mud to help the rescuers find it.
The 39-year-old was reported missing on July 31 after his pick-up truck collapsed in the huge and swampy Cariboo region British Columbia in Canada. He was strictly dehydrated on August 8th and with an injured leg.
“He was in bad health, it was difficult for him to stand,” said Bob Zimmerman from Quesnel Search and Rescue, he said CBC News. “I don't know that he would have made it for another 24 hours without recovering him.”
An online picture of quesnel search and rescue shows the provisional protection that Mr. Barber made of wood and mud, which is leaning against a stone with the word “help” that is scribbled on it.
He was found by Savior and flew to the Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake for treatment. Savior said that he had now been released and is “quite good”, but the result could have been very different.
“It literally sipped impure pond water to stay hydrated,” Sgt. Brad McKinnon from Williams Lake Royal Canadian Police McKinnon told Canadian press news. “The human body can go without food for a long time, but water is a different situation.
“I will express it like this – if we hadn't found it, if we did it, I would have serious concerns than at the moment,” he added. “We were there for nine days and it was essentially like a needle in a haystack. The Cariboo Region British Columbia is beautiful, but it is immense and there are plenty of rural and wilderness areas.”
In a post on her Facebook page, Quesnels search and rescue wrote: “After over a week in the wilderness, our topic in today's search came from the air.
“This result is the result of countless hours on site and in the air and uses every resource and every technology available to us. Quesnels search and rescue are on demand around the clock, 365 days a year.
“We would like to expand our deep thanks to our partners: RCMP, PEP Air and BC Emergency Health Services for their outstanding support in the introduction of this search in a successful conclusion.