A hiker lost for more than a week in the middle of a heatwave in a popular outdoors area near Seattle, Washington, has finally turned up.
Despite a huge search and rescue mission, Andrew Devers could not be located in the woods close to a hiking trailhead.
Yet, last weekend, eight days after he had parked his car at the start of a lowland hiking trail, near North Bend, he was discovered by a trail runner.
The 25-year-old is reported to have survived on just berries and water.
It was on June 18 that Devers parked his car at the Middle Fork Campground. He planned to hike on the 40km Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Trail. This is a popular route for walkers and described as an easy-going hike.
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When Devers was reported as missing a King County Search and Rescue team stepped in to look for him. At the height of the search, some 40 SAR personnel were out in the woods.
The concern for the hiker increased as temperatures rose and the days went by. Eventually, rescuers suspended the search.
Amazingly, a trail runner then found Devers near the Middle Fork Trailhead on Sunday.
He was taken to hospital and while it is not known how he became lost, he did tell rescuers he had survived by drinking river water and foraging for berries.
