Missing man found alive in remote canyon after nine days of search

A missing man was found in a remote canyon in California's Big Basin Redwoods State Park after a nine-day search. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said the 34-year-old Lucas McClish was last seen June 11 while hiking near Boulder Creek.

His family reported him missing and numerous agencies launched a massive search throughout the heavily forested area.

On Thursday, June 20, hikers near Foreman Creek heard cries for help and contacted police. Firefighters followed his calls for help but had difficulty locating him amid the rugged terrain.

“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,” said the chief of the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District. Marc Bingham say it Santa Cruz Sentinel.

With the help of a police dog, rescuers were able to locate McClish deep in a canyon. Surprisingly, he was relatively unharmed, suffering only a minor injury.

“About 10 days he survived in the wild, basically by drinking from the stream and eating wild berries,” Bingham said. “He had a minor injury… but, for the most part, he was disoriented, lost and survived off the field, which is pretty impressive to say what a tough individual he was or is.”

With the help of the rescue team, McClish was able to leave the area on foot.