A solo camping trip in Arizona's backcountry turned into a four-day survival test for a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, until a familiar voice cut through the canyon. Per the Guardian, Mark Young was reported missing after he failed to show up for dinner in the Verde Valley on April 17, a day after he'd set out, prompting an extensive search by Yavapai County authorities and his seven children, who flew in to help. Crews soon found his rental car on a remote road, most of his gear still inside but no sign of Young, who was described by his family as being an experienced hiker, notes Arizona's Family.
Drawing on his military survival training, Young sought shade from the Arizona heat under a cedar tree, battled dehydration (he did have water purification tablets on him), struggled to build a fire, and killed a rattlesnake as he waited, per the Guardian. On Monday, rescuers heard faint cries they couldn't immediately locate. Young, meanwhile, thought he heard hikers—until someone yelled "Dad!" It was his son Josh.
The two embraced before a sheriff's helicopter hoisted Young out and flew him to a Phoenix-area hospital. Dehydrated and injured but expected to recover, Young called himself a "miracle" and praised the search teams whose persistence, Josh said in a statement, showed they believed his father's life "was worth saving." The sheriff's office, meanwhile, says that if you do choose to go on a hike by yourself, bring along plenty of water and sustenance; let someone know exactly where you're going to be; and stay put in one spot to wait for help if you do get lost, per KNXV.
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