39-Year-Old Man Missing for 9 Days Found Alive in the Wilderness After Surviving on ‘Unclean Pond Water’

A man was rescued from the wilderness in Canada after surviving on his own for more than a week.

On Friday, August 8, a police helicopter from Prince George spotted Andrew Barber’s truck in a remote area north of McLeese Lake. He had been missing for nine days, according to Vancouver Island Free Daily and the Vancouver Sun.

Barber, 39, was found near his truck with a shelter he had made from mud and sticks. He had spelled out the word “Help” using rocks and mud, reports said.

“After more than a week in the wilderness, he was found alive during today’s aerial search,” Quesnel Search & Rescue, a local volunteer rescue group, wrote on Facebook. They added that finding him took “countless hours on the ground and in the air” using every tool and technology available.

Barber was taken to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake after being found in poor health. He had injuries and was severely dehydrated. Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon of the Williams Lake RCMP said, “If we hadn’t found him today, I don’t know if the outcome would have been the same. He was literally drinking unclean pond water to stay alive. The human body can go a long time without food, but water is different.”

During his time in the wilderness, Barber ate whatever he could find and stuffed grass into his clothes to keep warm. Bob Zimmerman, president of Quesnel Search and Rescue, said, “He was having a hard time standing. I don’t know if he would have survived another 24 hours without us finding him.”

It’s still unclear why Barber was in the remote, swampy area of British Columbia’s Cariboo region. However, he is now doing well and has been released from the hospital.

McKinnon said, “Finding him after nine days was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Had we not found him when we did, I would have been much more worried.”