B.C. man lucky to be alive after nearly 2 weeks in the wilderness

An RCMP helicopter and a missing man's SOS sign and shelter are pictured outside of Williams Lake, B.C. (Courtesy: Quesnel Search and Rescue/Facebook)

A B.C. man who was missing for nearly two weeks is lucky to be alive after he was found in a remote wilderness area surviving off the land, his rescuers say.

The last contact anyone had with the individual was on July 27, Bob Zimmerman, president and search manager of Quesnel Search and Rescue told CTV News. He was reported missing on July 31, and the Williams Lake RCMP asked the team to aid in the search on Aug. 3.

After days of searching a vast area, crews eventually found the man’s truck and an RCMP helicopter ultimately spotted him about 50 kilometers northwest of Williams Lake on Friday.

Zimmerman said though the outdoorsman was uninjured, he was “not in good shape at all” when he was finally rescued.

“We’re not sure if he’d have survived another 24 hours without food,” he said.

The man survived on pond water alone and stuffed his clothes with grass to keep warm. When the police helicopter touched down, the 39-year-old was standing next to a rock on which he had written “help” on both sides.

Against the rock he had built a shelter out of dirt and branches.

Zimmerman said the man did the right thing by staying put and waiting for help once he realized he was lost, but as a piece of advice urged anyone going out into the wilderness to bring a device with satellite capability to call for help.

“This outcome is the result of countless hours on the ground and in the air, using every resource and piece of technology available to us,” Quesnel SAR wrote on social media following the successful rescue.

“Today’s result is why we train, why we respond, and why we never give up.”