The emergency services had abandoned the search, believing that he could not survive in such conditions: lost in the forest at -20°C, a hiker found 50 days later

Sam Benastick, un 20-year-old hiker missing for almost two months, reappeared in an inhospitable region of British Columbia, Canada, this Tuesday, November 26.

The 22-year-old young man undertook a ten-day trek on October 7 in Redfern-Keily Provincial Park. With no news from him, he was reported missing ten days later. Significant resources were then deployed to find the young man, who left with food and described as an “experienced hiker” by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But the searches had been interrupted eleven days later, on October 28, with the arrival of a winter weather and night temperatures below -20°C leaving it little chance of survival.

Only his mother continued to believe it. She increased the number of calls on Facebook, thus giving visibility to the disappearance of her son. He was eventually recognized by two men who had spent the previous week walking the trail. Sam Benastick then trudged through the forestsupporting himself with two sticks. He had also cut up and wrapped his sleeping bag around his legs to protect them from the polar cold.

“He built a camp and a shelter in the bed of a dry stream”

“Sam told police he stayed in his car for two days, then walked to a stream on the side of a mountain, where he camped for 10 to 15 daysspecifies a press release from the gendarmerie published this Wednesday. He then descended into the valley and built a camp and shelter in a dry creek bed. He then walked to where he flagged down the two men and was taken to safety.”

While we can guess how the seasoned hiker survived, we don't know how he got lost, just as we don't yet know why he didn't retrace his steps. The current investigation should shed light on these gray areas.

“I can't stop smilingtestified his grandmother at the microphone of -. I'm so proud of him because he managed to stay alive“. Her grandson is currently being treated at Fort Nelson hospital to treat frostbite, in his arms. He is also being treated for smoke inhalation. On Canadian radio, his grandmother has already announced the gift she will give her grandson for Christmas: a GPS.