Lost man spent 9 days living off pond water until rescuers spotted ‘HELP' carved into rock
Andrew Barber, 39, was finally found Friday when a helicopter spotted his sign — as well as 'SOS' on the ground — more than a week into the search sparked by his truck breaking down in a remote part of British Columbia's vast Cariboo region.
The trained survivalist — who ironically has 'I am still here' tattooed on an arm — was found sheltering under a makeshift mud camp next to the signs, rescuers said.
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'He sustained some injuries and was severely dehydrated. We found him at the right time,' Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon of the Williams Lake RCMP told The Vancouver Island Free Daily.
3 Barber was found near a rock where he had scrawled 'HELP' for his rescuers.
Quesnel Search and Rescue
'He was having a hard time standing,' Bob Zimmerman, the president of Quesnel Search and Rescue, told the CBC.
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'I don't know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him.'
It's not clear why he was in the Cariboo region, a boggy, mostly rural part of the country north of Vancouver that is as 'beautiful' but 'immense,' McKinnon said. He was reported missing on July 31, but was last seen three days before that.
3 Andrew Barber, 39, survived nine days in the Canadian wilderness.
Williams Lake RCMP
Luckily, he was able to survive without supplies of food or clean water because he has 'above average understanding of the wilderness,' McKinnon said.
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'He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated,' McKinnon told The Globe and Mail. 'The human body can go a long time without food, but water is a different situation.'
McKinnon said Barber desperately 'munched on whatever he could find' as he waited for help to arrive.
3 Baber was found deep in British Columbia's Cariboo region, officials said.
Ferenc – stock.adobe.com
Barber was airlifted to Cariboo Memorial Hospital where he's expected to make a full recovery.
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