A 70-year-old hiker was found alive and safe Wednesday morning after spending five days alone in the Sierra Nevada wilderness, authorities said.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office got a 911 text about 8 a.m. Wednesday from someone stating they were with a missing person, according to a sheriff’s office social media post. The person was later identified as 70-year-old Warren Elliott.
A California Highway patrol helicopter picked up Elliott and took him to the command post at Homewood Mountain Resort, officials said.
“Mr. Elliott was greeted by cheers and clapping and was then reunited with his family, which was an emotional moment for everyone,” according to the post.
Elliott had gone out for a walk on Friday around 3 p.m. in a familiar area but when he walked back to the camping area in Rubicon Springs, he went the wrong way, officials said. He ate berries and drank from the river to sustain himself. He was found “in good spirits” and uninjured.
He was last seen near Cadillac Hill and was found about nine miles away at Hell Hole Reservoir, but he walked more than that in the five days he was missing, authorities said.
There were between 50 and 100 searchers — from 10 agencies across the state — every day looking for Elliott, authorities said. Much of the search focused on the Rubicon trail, a 22-mile route in the Sierra Nevada, west of Lake Tahoe.
Elliott had been working with others clearing trails ahead of a weekend Jeep Jamboree — a guided, family-oriented adventure for off-road enthusiasts. He was a passenger in his son’s Jeep and disappeared after leaving the group Friday.