Hiker rescued from Arizona desert after three days without water, food
Jun 3, 2015, 11:27 AM | Updated: 11:27 am
PHOENIX — A 58-year-old Tucson hiker was rescued early Tuesday after getting lost near the Arizona Trail and surviving three to four 100-plus degree days without food and water.
A Department of Public Safety helicopter located the man about 12 miles west of Payson, Arizona.
The man was on a planned 10-day hike by himself before he lost his way and texted his wife about the situation he was in. When his wife lost contact with him, she decided to call 911.
“It appeared that the patient was crawling up from the bottom of the canyon where he may have been looking for water,” DPS paramedic Chris Hecht said. “If the patient had been further down the canyon, we may not have found him in time.”
The man was hospitalized and released.