Ohio hiker rescued after missing for 14 days in Kentucky’s rugged wilderness

(CNN) — An Ohio man was found alive after 14 days in the rough terrain of a Kentucky forest, just as crews were starting to lose hope, rescuers said.

There was a shoe print and evidence of a walking stick in an area few people traverse, the search group said in a Facebook post on July 20.

On the last day of the search mission in the Red River Gorge, the Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team bushwacked through dense forest and up a creek when they found a sign of life.

The team of five rescuers heard a yell for help in the woods. Once they reached the voice, it turned out to be Scott Hern, the missing man.

The moment the good news came over the radio was “exhilarating,” Wolfe County Search and Rescue Chief John May told CNN.

“An inexperienced hiker in a wilderness area for 14 days without food or water, nobody really expected to find him alive like we did,” he said. “It’s really just a miracle that he survived.”

The truck was still there

Hern, 48, was last seen in the woods off Tower Rock Trail on July 6, the rescue group said. His family in Ironton, Ohio, which is about 100 miles northeast of the gorge, hadn’t heard from him since that date.

A US Forest Service officer saw Hern’s truck on the Saturday when he went hiking in the Red River Gorge – and the same ranger saw it again when he returned to duty a week later on July 13, Wolfe County Search and Rescue Chief John May told CNN.

“When he ran his license plate, that’s what kind of triggered this whole event because there was a missing persons report filed in Ohio where he was actually missing from,” May told CNN affiliate WLEX.

The search began on July 16, when Hern’s family realized where he had gone and contacted the search group, May told CNN.

CNN reached out to Hern’s family on Thursday but has not heard back.

That night, a team searched for Hern until after midnight, but they couldn’t find him, the Wolfe County rescue group posted on Facebook. “Darkness and fog” made visibility difficult on the rugged, off-trail area, they said.

Twenty-five members from three rescue crews and two canine units tried again the next day without luck. And four dog crews tried the day after that.

The make-or-break search day

Eric Wolterman said a prayer as he and the Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team headed out on Saturday, July 20, two weeks since Hern went missing. He and his teammates went into the search thinking it would be a recovery day, he wrote on Facebook.

“It was going to be the final day of searching whether we located anything or not. We were in the roughest terrain you could imagine and it’s very dangerous for anyone to even be out there,” he wrote.

Hern’s diary, provided by his family, pointed the search team to Bell Falls. The team had already searched there, but they decided to go north up a creek, the group said.

After spotting footprints, someone on the team heard a faint noise, Wolterman recalled. They shouted again, thinking it was another search team.

“Help,” Wolterman said he heard.

As the team got closer, they asked for the person’s name. “Scott Hern,” he said.

“My name is Eric, I’m with Wolfe County search and rescue, you are safe, we are going to get you out of here,” said Wolterman, who was the first one to reach Hern.

Hern looked at him and thanked him before asking for a hug, Wolterman said.

“I think it was the best hug of both of our lives,” he wrote.

Six bottles of water

Finding out Hern was alive, despite the odds, changed the tone of the operation and sent energy through the crew, May said.

“That extra boost of energy kind of kicked in when we heard that he was alive now just shifted (to) let’s figure out how to get him out of there as quickly as we can,” he said.

The area proved to be a challenge, as waterfalls with drop-offs and a narrow trail would have made carrying him out dangerous, May said. Hern was also tucked into an overgrown area.

Instead of carrying Hern out, rescuers decided it would be safer for everyone to hoist him out by air, May said. They called in the Kentucky State Police, who extracted Hern by helicopter.

“We’ve never encountered anyone that has been lost for 14 days and found alive. So, it’s definitely unusual,” May told CNN.

Hern carried six bottles of water with him that day – and there were six empty bottles in his backpack when the crew got there, May said. After July 8, Hern told rescuers he didn’t eat or drink anything, as his mouth was too dry to do so.

Hern was “extremely dehydrated” and “his feet were in really bad shape” from blisters and bug bites, May said. Hern couldn’t walk when they discovered him.

Despite being lost in the woods in rough terrain, Hern had a few advantages working in his favor, May said.

“He’s a heavier gentleman, so he had some reservoirs there. He did take in those six bottles of water with him – that helped him for the first couple of days,” May said. “Where we located Mr. Hern was under a rock shelter.”

The rock shelter up against the cliff line kept Hearn out of the direct sun and safe from the elements, he explained.

May did not know if Hern was able to retrieve water dropping into the cave, as they hadn’t spoken about it, he said.

Hern was hospitalized and was not able to walk on his own, the rescue group wrote on Facebook on July 22, two days after his rescue.

Hern beamed with a smile in his navy-blue hospital gown with his walker in a photo the family shared with the rescue group.

“I think he’s going to make a full recovery,” May said. “It’s just going to take a little time to get real food in him, rehydrate him, get his feet in better condition and we think he’ll be good to go.”

CNN’s Tanika Gray contributed to this report.

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