A father and his two children helped rescue a man who was stranded in the Santa Fe National Forest for 14 days.
By by Newscolony
An experienced hiker over the age of 50 was stranded in the Santa Fe National Forest for 14 days and was finally rescued when a stranger heard his desperate calls for help.
The frantic two-day rescue mission unfolded on Saturday when hiker John Utsey was walking with his kids up Winsor Trail.
Utsey called out for his daughter and heard a stranger’s voice reply from way off the trail, leading to the discovery of the lost man who was starving, delirious, had lips so badly chapped they were bleeding, and pain in his back that prevented him from standing.
‘He was lying beside a creek. His legs didn’t…he couldn’t stand, he couldn’t move, he was delirious. So he wasn’t making much sense,’ Utsey said to KRQE.
‘His lips were all chapped to the point they were bleeding. His tongue was swollen; he was super gaunt and skinny. I was like this guy really needs help,’ he added.
He was found on Saturday about 600 yards off Winsor Trail when John Utsey, who was hiking with his two kids, heard the hiker’s cries for help and called for the Santa Fe Fire Department (personnel above on rescue scene above)
The family found him about 600 yards off the trail down a steep hillside. Utsey and his two kids gave the man all of the food and water they had and hiked the remaining three miles to the trailhead to call 911.
Santa Fe firefights descended within an hour and had the exact GPS location of the hiker thanks to Utsey. Read more from Newscolony
