RED RIVER GORGE, Ky. (WCMH) – A missing Ohio man was found alive after spending 14 days in the Kentucky wilderness, 12 of which, he told rescuers, were without food or water.
“We didn't think we would find him alive, to be honest,” Chief of the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team John May told NBC4. “We were primarily searching with cadaver dogs.”
The Kentucky rescue team began looking for Scott Hern, 48, of Ironton on July 16, the day the nonprofit was alerted he was missing. Hern was last seen about 10 days earlier on the Tower Rock Trail in Daniel Boone National Forest.
His car was found in a parking lot for the trail, and searchers believed it had not moved from its location since July 6. That night, a group of searchers looked for Hern until after midnight, combing through “rugged” terrain in fog and darkness. Hern was not found.
Searchers continued to look through the woods for days, accompanied by canine units. While May said the search team always remains hopeful a missing person will be found alive, he knew Hern’s chances were dwindling by the day.
“You typically don't survive without water more than four or five days in that type of heat that we experienced during that time period,” May said. “I'd already talked to the family and told them that each day that has passed here is less and less likely that he's going to be found alive.”
On the afternoon of July 20, the team went back out into the forest for the last day of their search mission. Searchers previously learned from a diary kept by Hern that he had visited Bell Falls. Although they already checked that area, they decided to search the area above the waterfall. While continuing north, the search group found a shoe print and evidence of a walking stick in an area that is not heavily traveled.
As they continued to walk, the search team heard a noise – it was Hern yelling for help. A five-person team located Hern up a steep embankment below a cliff line.
“It was truly a needle-and-haystack kind of thing, and if he hadn't have yelled, we wouldn't have found him,” May said. “He was in a spot that was so thick, heavily vegetated and under a rock shelter that he never would have been found if he hadn't yelled out and they heard him. So it was really a miracle he was awake and able to still speak enough so we could hear him.”
May said he gave Hern a handshake and told him he was “damn glad to see him alive.” Hern was found in a shaded area under a large rock structure, which May believes may have helped protect him from high temperatures that reached 98 degrees. Hern told rescuers he did not eat or drink anything after the first two days he was stranded, according to May. He was hoisted out of the area and flown to a local hospital.
Two days after Hern was found, his family shared a photo of him smiling while standing with a walker in the hospital, stating that he was now able to eat food. May said when he last talked to the family Wednesday, Hern was still “pretty weak.”
“[His recovery is] going to take some time, but I'm sure he's getting stronger every day,” May said. “There's no indication that he's not going to make a full recovery.”
May said Hern was new to hiking, and shared some tips to stay safe when exploring nature. He said hikers should always tell someone where they are going and what time they should be home. He also suggested carrying a cell phone with a way to charge it (such as a backup battery or portable charger) and downloading a map app that works offline.
