A father who got stranded in the California wilderness managed to survive 20 days in the extreme elements before his rescue.
Ron Dailey was reported missing by his family on October 13, after he failed to return from a hunting trip to his home in Selma, ABC News reports.
The 65-year-old was found barely able to walk on November 1 by a group of fellow sportsmen near the Swamp Lake trail in the Sierra National Forest.
Dailey became trapped while descending the Swamp Lake trail in his pickup truck after the vehicle got damaged by rocks.
Realizing that he was unable to continue, he camped out on a flat area where he altered his 2002 Silver Dodge Dakota and removed his passenger seat to create a place to rest.
He stayed in his makeshift shelter for several days until he was faced with a critical decision to make the trek out of the woods.
‘This is it, Ron, you either try to get out or you sit here and die,’ he recalled thinking.
He then made the ‘toughest walk’ of his life along the trail at an altitude of over 10,000 feet.
Ron Dailey, 65, was reported missing on October 13 when he didn’t return from a deer hunting trip near the Swamp Lake trail in the Sierra National Forest
Dailey was found barely able to walk on November 1 by a group of hunters. He did not eat for six days
Dailey described having to make frequent stops to catch his breath.
The weather in the Sierra National Forest was just as unforgiving as his journey, with average lows of 44 degrees throughout October.
Dailey fell twice and lost his cellphone as he tried to make his escape.
As he stumbled out of the woods, Dailey said he prayed to God: ‘You gotta send somebody up here to me. I can hardly walk anymore.’
His prayers were finally answered when a pair of headlights came shining in his direction.
Dailey managed to capture the vehicle’s attention and fell into the arms of his rescuers as he prayed.
The hunters who found Dailey gave him any food they could after he told them he hadn’t eaten in six days.
Emergency services arrived and airlifted the father to a hospital in Clovis.
His 2002 Silver Dodge Dakota was unable to go back up the trail after hitting rocky terrain
Glenda, his wife, posted how grateful she was for the efforts by officials, volunteers, and god for bringing her husband home
The Swamp Lake trail in the Sierra National Forest that Dailey was traveling was a extremely rugged landscape that tore apart his truck
Dailey was rescued after nearly three weeks of searches by volunteers and the Fresno County Search and Rescue Posse, who spent ‘countless hours’ searching the rough terrain to help find Dailey, according to officials.
Later that day, his wife Glenda shared online, ‘HE’S BEEN FOUND! Thank you for all of your prayers. We will provide more details as soon as we know more. Thank you, God, thank you.’
She went on to thank everyone for all the support and love they received while they patiently waited for Dailey, and mentioned again that God had answered their prayers.
‘He is going to be shocked when I show him all of the people who searched for him. He is resting and will share what happened very soon,’ she wrote.
‘To the men who went down that road and found him, I am eternally grateful to you; I cannot wait to meet you.’
In another update she revealed that medical staff were ‘pumping him with fluids and his color is coming back’.
