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Missing Hiker Survives 5 Weeks in Sub-Zero Temperatures
A 20-year-old hiker who went missing in northeast British Columbia’s wilderness was discovered after surviving for more than five weeks in temperatures of below -20 Celsius. Sam Benastick, 20, went missing on October 17 after failing to return home after a 10-day camping trip.
He was reportedly discovered on a service road Tuesday morning, supporting himself with two walking sticks and a cut-up sleeping blanket wrapped over his legs for warmth.
Two guys were on a trail for work in Redfern-Keily Provincial Park, about 250 kilometers northwest of Fort St. John, British Columbia, when they noticed Benastick trekking out of the bush.
They recognized him as Sam Benastick, a hiker who had been missing for over a month. The men took Benastick to a local hospital, where physicians treated him.
Finding Sam alive is the finest possible outcome. After all the time he had been gone, it was feared that this would not be the case,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl Madonna Saunderson.
Police released an image of Sam Benastick while searching for the missing hiker.
Search for hiker
According to the RCMP, search and rescue teams, including the Canadian Rangers and “many local volunteers with extensive backcountry knowledge of the area,” were hunting for him for over 20 days.
Benastick told police he spent a few days in his car before walking to a creek near a mountain and camping for another 10 to 15 days.
According to the RCMP, he traveled down the valley and erected a shelter in a dry creek bed. Benastick then proceeded to the location where the two workers discovered him.
In an interview with CBC News, Benastick’s uncle, Al Benastick, characterized his nephew as an ardent outdoorsman suffering from “frostbite and some smoke inhalation”.
He said it was “kind of unbelievable” that his nephew survived. “Imagine being out there, being that cold, for that long.”
Benastick’s mother shared a photo of him giving a thumbs-up from a hospital bed. She captioned the shot, “He complained that he hadn’t caught a single fish.” “He will make a recovery; he just needs some time.”
Eileen Stevens, who described herself as Benastick’s “Nana” after marrying his paternal grandfather, said she was “elated” to hear that her grandson had been found, but she never gave up hope that he was still alive.
“Sam knows the woods. He grew up to be a hiker. “He’s an avid fisherman.” She stated that he had been well-prepared for the trip and had done much research in advance.
She claimed she didn’t believe he would have intentionally gone absent for so long and joked about getting him a GPS for Christmas.
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