California man missing for more than a week found alive in isolated canyon

A California man was found alive more than a week after he went missing.

Lukas McClish, 34, was reported missing by his family on June 11, officials said on social media. He was last seen walking in the Boulder Creek neighborhood of Santa Cruz, wearing all-black clothing.

On Thursday, around 3 p.m. local time, several witnesses reported “hearing someone screaming for help” near Foreman Creek, next to a local highway, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said on Thursday. social networks. Deputies and other officials responded to the scene and confirmed it was McClish calling for help.

Drones were used to find McClish's exact location in a remote canyon before authorities attempted to reach him on foot. State park rangers encountered McClish first. The firefighters were then able to intervene to bring him to safety. Photos show officials gathered around a densely wooded area.

“There are no trails, no roads, several kilometers from the nearest place to a road, the nearest road we entered, we had to drive 4x4s probably for a quarter mile and then we couldn't go any further,” Mark Bingham, chief of the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District, told local newspaper The Santa Cruz Sentinel.

McClish needed help getting out of the woods, Bingham said, but he suffered no serious injuries and was reunited with his family, the sheriff's office said. The Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire Department said on social media that McClish survived the elements for more than a week.

“He survived about 10 days in the wild, mostly by drinking from the stream and eating wild berries,” Bingham told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “For the most part, he was disoriented, lost and surviving off land, which is pretty impressive to say what a tough individual he was or is.”