Man was lost for 19 days - level 3
It’s an amazing story of survival. A 72 year old deer hunter is recovering in hospital in California, after getting lost in the snowy wilderness of Mendocino National Forest for nearly three weeks.
Gene Penaflor was discovered by hunters on Saturday, 19 days after going missing in northwestern California. He had survived by eating squirrels and wrapping leaves around his body to keep warm. His son, Jeremy Penaflor, described his father’s ordeal.
“He ate squirrels, he ate lizards, frogs, snakes, whatever he needed to survive. I mean he’s out there for 18 days so he needed the food. And when you’re out there, whatever you have to do to survive, that’s what he did.”
The Mendocino National Forest is run by the US Forest Service and has been closed due to the government shutdown.
Penaflor, described as an avid hunter with more than 30 years of wilderness experience, had been hunting with a friend when they became separated on September 24th. After four days of searching by at least 18 agencies from more than a dozen counties, the official search was suspended because searchers couldn't find any clues, and storms were coming.
On Saturday, the search was finally resumed – but it was a group of hunters who heard Penaflor’s cry for help and eventually found him in a canyon.
Difficult words: deer (big animal that lives in the forest and eats brass), ordeal (terrible experience), lizard (snake with legs), due to (because of) shutdown (closing), avid (interested), county (smaller area of state), suspend (stop), clue (object or information that helps you).