iStockphoto / Videowok_art
A 65-year-old hunter in California who was lost for nearly three weeks in snowy mountains was found alive. He was in the Sierra National Forest in Northern California, a rugged wilderness area home to black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, and more.
65-year-old Ron Dailey lives in Selma in Fresno County, California. He went missing on October 13th after leaving for a solo hunt. Dailey was all set to return that evening and had told relatives his plans and whereabouts so when he didn’t return on time the alarm bells started ringing.
Believed to be in the Dinkey Creek area east of Shaver Lake, the search for Ron Dailey would eventually spread across multiple counties and span several weeks. Now the search is over after he was found alive!
65 Year Old California Hunter Found Alive After Going Missing For 3 Weeks
After being rescued he would tell news outlets that he got lost on Swamp Lake Trail and from there he wound up in a region where he needed an off-roading vehicle of some sort. Of course, he didn’t have that as he was in his truck.
In fact, a member of the Hill Hoppers rescue (Bryce Anderson) would comment on this later. He said they “were in disbelief that a stock truck could make it in that far.”
According to KTLA, Ron lived in the bed of his truck for two weeks as shelter in hopes of someone coming along to rescue him. Once he finally accepted that wouldn’t be happening he hoofed it out of there on foot, hoping for the best.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced on Facebook they had found him on November 1st but provided no further details at that time. Since then, more information has emerged.
Dailey told KSFN-TV “I went over this thing, and it was scraping bottom. I looked up the tree in front of it, it said Diamond Road, jeep road. That means you’d better have a rock crawler. I don’t have a rock crawler.”
Shortly thereafter, his truck broke down and he was stuck at 10,000 feet of elevation.
After living in his truck for two weeks and surviving on the little supplies he had, he walked out. Later telling KSFN-TV “you either walk out or you’re going to sit here and die.”
I don’t know about you all but this immediately makes me want to upgrade to a satellite GPS watch with an emergency function. There’s no reason to get lost in the woods unintentionally these days! Key word there being ‘unintentionally.’ I’m all for getting unplugged and living your best life but doing so safely.