Buzz
Each year, countless individuals embark on hiking journeys through forests. Unfortunately, some of these hikers lose their way and vanish without a trace. There are instances where missing people are unsure of how they ended up in the woods to begin with.
Whenever someone disappears into the wilderness, search teams and volunteers spring into action to find them. Over the years, these efforts have saved numerous lives. In other cases, through sheer skill or fortune, lost hikers manage to return to civilization on their own. Here are ten remarkable stories of individuals who got lost but were ultimately rescued.
10. Aleksandr Kovalev
The vast taiga of Siberia is an immense forest, where during winter, heavy snow and poor visibility make escape nearly impossible, which is why this region remains sparsely populated. In September 2017, a man named Aleksandr Kovalev vanished from his workplace in the Siberian village of Beregovoy. His truck had a full tank of gas, but his glasses were left behind in the vehicle. It made no sense for him to abandon the truck when he could barely see.
For two weeks, no one knew of Aleksandr’s whereabouts... until he appeared out of the taiga. He managed to find a highway and waited there for help to come. It’s truly miraculous that he survived in the freezing Siberian wilderness for two weeks without food or water, especially considering the area is known to house black bears, wolves, and tigers.
He suffered from frostbite all over his legs and required hospitalization. When his children asked him why he had been in the wilderness, he claimed not to know. He was too traumatized by the ordeal to speak further about the experience.
9. Lisa Theris
In the summer of 2017, 25-year-old radiology student Lisa Theris went missing, and after weeks of searching, she was presumed dead. However, the truth was that she had placed her trust in two men she had only just met, who had criminal backgrounds. Suddenly, everything went dark. Lisa awoke completely naked, barefoot, and stranded in the Alabama woods. She had also lost her glasses. With her poor eyesight, she was effectively legally blind without them. Lost and confused, she used a walking stick to navigate through the wilderness. Lisa cannot remember how she ended up in the woods and suspects she may have been drugged.
Lisa remained lost for 28 days. Doctors believe she lost 18 kilograms (40 lb) during her ordeal. She survived by foraging for mushrooms, berries, and drinking water from puddles. During rain, she would squeeze water out of her hair to stay hydrated. Her legs were covered in scars from scratches, insect bites, and poison ivy. Finally, she stumbled upon a road and collapsed from exhaustion. A female driver initially mistook Lisa for a dead animal but stopped when she realized Lisa was alive. She called 911, and an ambulance soon arrived, reuniting Lisa with her family.
The two men Lisa was with were named Randall Wade and Manley Green. By the time Lisa was found alive, they had already been arrested for a theft that occurred around the same time as her disappearance. Lisa has stated that the experience profoundly changed her, giving her a new appreciation for life. She kept the walking stick as a reminder of her journey. During an interview, she clutched it tightly, grateful for how it helped her survive. “It helped me out a lot.” Details about the two men are scarce as the investigation is ongoing.
8. Liang Sheng Yueh
In 2017, a young couple, 21-year-old Liang Sheng Yueh and his 19-year-old girlfriend Liu Chen Chun, set out on a hiking trip in Nepal. A sudden storm caused visibility to drop drastically, and soon they lost all sense of direction. As they made their way through the treacherous landscape, they both fell into a ravine but were miraculously saved when they found shelter in a cave on the edge of a cliff. Stranded for seven weeks with no escape, they eventually ran out of food. Liu tragically passed away, while Liang conserved his energy by sleeping most of the time. The rescue team found them three days later.
By the time the rescue team reached Liang, he was still alive but had lost 30 kilograms (66 lb). His right leg was severely injured and infested with maggots. The team only located the couple because vultures had gathered around their bodies. Liang believes that his survival was due to his habit of eating snow and licking the salt he had with him. He was airlifted by helicopter and rushed to a hospital immediately.
7. Barbara And La’Myra Briley
In December 2016, 71-year-old Barbara Briley from New Jersey was en route to North Carolina to visit family for Christmas with her great-granddaughter La’Myra. However, Barbara became lost in the middle of Virginia. She stopped at a gas station to ask for help, and the clerk attempted to assist her with the GPS. Unfortunately, Barbara misunderstood the directions and accidentally turned down a random dirt road. After driving approximately 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) into the woods, she drove over a small fallen tree, causing her car to become stuck. Both Barbara and La’Myra were stranded in a remote area. In such conditions, it is generally advisable to wait for assistance, particularly in the winter and deep in the forest.
For several days, no other vehicles passed by the dirt road. Meanwhile, the family members of Barbara and La'Myra were growing more concerned. Police helicopters conducted aerial searches, but they couldn’t spot the stranded car under the thick canopy of trees. It turned out that the road was situated on private property, and the property owner eventually discovered them. Barbara was unresponsive, but La’Myra was perfectly fine, engaging in conversation. The two had survived by eating snacks meant for their Christmas party. The property owner called 911, and the pair received immediate medical assistance.
6. Shannon Leah Fraser
In September 2014, 30-year-old Shannon Leah Fraser from Queensland, Australia, was spending time at a swimming hole with her friends when an argument with her fiancé led her to seek solitude by taking a walk into the bush. This decision turned out to be disastrous, as Shannon quickly became lost, and despite extensive search efforts, no one could find her. Volunteers collectively spent 800 hours searching for her.
After 17 days, Shannon finally returned to the exact spot where she had vanished. She was completely naked except for a plastic fertilizer bag. Her skin was severely sunburned, so much so that it began to bleed, and she had a deep wound in her leg. A farmer named Brad Finch discovered her and assisted her in reaching a hospital. Shannon had lost 16 kilograms (35 lb) during her ordeal. She survived by eating insects and fish and drinking water from a nearby creek. The reason she wasn’t found sooner was because, rather than turning back, Shannon had ventured uphill into a mountainous area, which the search team considered an unlikely direction for someone to go.
5. Keith Parkins
In 1952, two-year-old Keith Parkins vanished from his grandfather’s ranch in Ritter, Oregon. Despite an extensive search by the family over several miles of terrain, he couldn’t be located. The next day, Keith was found alive but unconscious, lying face down in the snow, an astonishing feat given that he had survived the cold night. Remarkably, he was 13 kilometers (8 miles) away from his family’s ranch. His clothing was torn, and his jacket had been removed.
In the Missing 411 documentary, survival expert Les Stroud, known as the ‘Survivor Man,’ reenacted the journey that Keith would have undertaken in 1952. For Keith to have reached the spot where he was found, he would have needed to walk and climb nonstop for 19 hours. Many theorists struggle to believe that a two-year-old could have completed such a journey alone. Some suggest that he may have been abducted. During the documentary, Keith shares his recollections, but he doesn't remember all the details of that fateful night.
4. Robert Bogucki
In early July 1999, 23-year-old Robert Bogucki from Alaska traveled to Australia with plans to explore the vast, scorching Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia on his bicycle. His disappearance went unnoticed until late July when his abandoned bike was found. A search was launched, but it was ultimately called off on August 9 without any sign of Robert.
A group of Bogucki’s fellow Americans decided to take matters into their own hands. A Vietnam veteran named Garrison St. Clair led a group of people to continue searching for him. Their efforts garnered attention from local news outlets, and it was through this publicity that Bogucki was eventually discovered. A news helicopter spotted him standing in a river, and he was rescued. After being gone for 40 days, he had survived by drinking groundwater and eating plants. The most puzzling part of the story is that he had deliberately left his food and water behind as part of a spirit quest. Had he not been rescued, his survival would have been in serious jeopardy.
3. Jaime Neale
In 2009, 19-year-old Jaime Neale from London embarked on a gap year adventure before college. His travels took him to Australia, where he planned to hike through the outback as part of an epic vacation that included visits to Vietnam, Laos, and Nepal. While exploring the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, he anticipated spending just a few hours on the trails but left his cell phone behind. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a short day trip turned into a 12-day-long ordeal. Jaime found himself lost, and despite helicopters flying overhead, they never saw him, even as he screamed and waved his hands in an attempt to be noticed.
Eventually, two hikers came across Jaime and assisted him in reaching a hospital. In an interview with The Guardian, Jaime’s parents admitted to being angry with him for not carrying his cell phone. However, given the traumatic experience he had gone through, they found it hard to stay upset for long.
2. Andrew Gaskell
In October 2016, Andrew Gaskell, a 25-year-old engineer from Tasmania, Australia, went on holiday to Malaysia. During his visit to Gunnung Mulu National Park, he wrote on his personal blog that he hoped this long journey would help him figure out his life. Seeking an authentic experience, he intentionally avoided the usual tourist attractions and chose to embark on a spiritual quest that involved climbing mountains.
However, Andrew became lost in the mountains for two weeks. He became malnourished and dehydrated, his legs covered in leeches. After a major search operation, he was airlifted by helicopter. In his public apology, Gaskell expressed his regret for the trouble he caused, acknowledging that the entire situation could have been prevented. He later shared a detailed blog post, revealing that he had ignored safety advice from locals and had deliberately walked along closed or restricted paths despite the warnings.
1. Edward Rosenthal
At 64 years old, Edward Rosenthal planned only a short hike in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California in 2010. Unfortunately, he took a wrong turn and became completely lost. He spent six days in the desert, walking a total of 39 kilometers (24 miles) in an attempt to find his way back to the car.
Eventually, exhausted and unable to continue, Edward found shade in a small canyon and decided to stay put, moving only when the shade shifted. With a hat on his head and a pen in his pocket, he wrote messages to his family on the rim of the hat, asking them not to make his funeral sad, but to celebrate with a party and drinks. Fortunately, a helicopter spotted him and rescued him before those messages ever had to be read.
