Latest news with #Cariboo
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
Man survives 9 days in wilderness drinking dirty pond water, carved "HELP" on rock before rescue
A man was rescued after surviving nine days lost in the Canadian wilderness, officials said. Andrew Barber, 39, was reported missing in British Columbia's Cariboo region on July 31, CBS News partner BBC News reported. Williams Lake Royal Canadian Mounted Police Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon told The Canadian Press that the search was like "looking for a needle in a haystack" and described the remote area as "boggy," with "tons of rural and wilderness areas." Luckily, Barber had an "above average understanding of the wilderness," McKinnon said. He was able to build a shelter from sticks and moss. He drank pond water to stay hydrated, McKinnon said, and "munched on whatever he could find." Barber also wrote multiple messages, including carving the word "HELP" on a rock near his shelter and drawing an "SOS" in mud to try to alert rescuers. On Aug. 8, Barber was found safe near his shelter after being spotted by a helicopter from the Quesnel Search and Rescue team. Rescuers had first seen Barber's truck, then they found him and his shelter about three miles away, Quesnel Search and Rescue president Bob Zimmerman told CBC News. Barber was severely dehydrated and had a leg injury, the BBC reported. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and released. "Today's result is why we train, why we respond, and why we never give up," the Quesnel Search and Rescue team said on social media. Other agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, British Columbia search and rescue organization PEP Air and BC Emergency Health Services also took part in the search for Barber. Zimmerman told CBC News that despite Barber's survival skills, he may not have lasted much longer. "He was having a hard time standing. I don't know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him," Zimmerman said. "He's a lucky man."
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Driver lost in wilderness for nine days had to take disgusting step to survive
A 39-year-old Canadian man spent nine days lost in the wilderness relying on his survival instincts. Andrew Barber was discovered on August 8 in a remote area north of McLeese Lake, located in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. Barber has been reported missing on July 31 near the lake, where his truck had broken down. A police helicopter flying from Prince George had spotted Barber's truck nine days after the 39-year-old was initially reported missing. He was found in a 'boggy' area close to his truck, where he had created a shelter out of mud and sticks. Barber had etched the word 'Help' on a rock next to his makeshift shelter and also wrote 'SOS' in the mud, according to the BBC. In order to survive and avoid dehydration, Barber had been drinking dirty pond water. 'He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated,' Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sergeant Brad McKinnon said, according to the Vancouver Sun. 'The human body can go a long time without food, but water is a different situation,' McKinnon added. 'I'll put it this way - had we not found him when we did, I would have had graver concerns than I currently do,' McKinnon said. 'We had been at this for nine days, and it was essentially like looking for a needle in a haystack.' Barber also stuffed his clothes with grass to protect his body from the elements and ate anything and everything he could find in the wilderness to survive. 'He was having a hard time standing. I don't know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him,' Quesnel Search and Rescue president and manager Bob Zimmerman said. 'Once he got to the lake, he stayed there. He built himself a shelter with moss and clothing,' Zimmerman said. 'All he could do was drink the water, and I believe he may have chewed a bit of moss.' 'This outcome is the result of countless hours on the ground and in the air, using every resource and piece of technology available to us,' Quesnel SAR wrote on Facebook. 'Today's result is why we train, why we respond, and why we never give up.' The survivor was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been released.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Missing man survived alone for nine days by drinking pond water
Andrew Barber, 39, survived for nine days in the Canadian wilderness after his pick-up truck broke down. He was reported missing on 31 July in British Columbia 's Cariboo region and was found on 8 August. Barber sustained himself by drinking pond water and constructing a makeshift shelter from wood and mud. Rescuers located him after he carved "HELP" into a rock and "SOS" into the mud to signal for assistance. Upon rescue, he was severely dehydrated and had an injured leg, but has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering well.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Man rescued from Canadian wilderness survived by drinking pond water for nine days
A man who went missing for nine days in the Canadian wilderness survived by drinking pond water and fashioning a shelter from wood and mud, search and rescue teams have said. Andrew Barber was found after he carved the word 'HELP' into a rock and 'SOS' into the mud to help rescuers find him. The 39-year-old was reported missing on 31 July after his pick-up truck broke down in the vast and boggy Cariboo region of British Columbia in Canada. He was recovered on 8 August, severely dehydrated and with an injured leg. 'He was in poor health, he was having a hard time standing,' Bob Zimmerman, from Quesnel Search and Rescue, told CBC News. 'I don't know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him.' A picture posted online by Quesnel Search and Rescue shows the makeshift shelter that Mr Barber built for himself out of wood and mud, which features the shelter leaning up against a rock with the word "Help" scrawled on it. He was found by rescuers and flown to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake for treatment. Rescuers said he has now been discharged and is doing 'quite well,' but that the outcome could have been very different. "He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated," Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon of the Williams Lake Royal Canadian Mounted Police McKinnon, told Canadian Press News. "The human body can go a long time without food, but water is a different situation. "I'll put it this way — had we not found him when we did, I would have had graver concerns than I currently do," he added. "We had been at this for nine days, and it was essentially like looking for a needle in a haystack. The Cariboo region of British Columbia is beautiful, but it is immense, and there are tons of rural and wilderness areas." In a post on their Facebook page, Quesnel Search and Rescue wrote: 'After over a week in the wilderness, our subject has been located alive during today's search from the air. 'This outcome is the result of countless hours on the ground and in the air, using every resource and piece of technology available to us. Quesnel Search and Rescue is on call 24/7, 365 days a year — and our entire team is made up of dedicated volunteers who give their time, skills, and heart to help those in need. 'We want to extend our deepest thanks to our partners: RCMP, PEP Air, and BC Emergency Health Services for their outstanding support in bringing this search to a successful result is why we train, why we respond, and why we never give up.'
National Post
2 days ago
- Health
- National Post
Man survives several days in B.C. wilderness by 'slurping pond water' and eating 'whatever he could find'
Article content Williams Lake RCMP say 39-year-old Andrew Barber was 'slurping pond water' and 'munched on whatever he could find' to stay alive for several days after his truck had broken down in a remote part of the Cariboo. Article content Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon says Barber was first reported missing on July 31, and found him on Aug. 8 on forest service past McLeese Lake after an RCMP helicopter had spotted him by his self-made shelter near a rock with the word 'Help' written on it. Article content Article content Article content McKinnon says police officers found Barber with an injured right leg and 'severely dehydrated' before taking him by air to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, from which he has since been released. Article content Article content McKinnon says he has been told that Barber is 'doing quite well' after his experience, but adds that the outcome 'likely could have been very different' given Barber's lack of clean drinking water. Article content
