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.”