A missing 70-year-old hiker was hoisted to safety “alive and alert” after vanishing for a week on a remote Michigan island, according to authorities.
Hiker Craig Berg was rescued with the help of state police and K-9 units on Saturday after Good Samaritan backpackers spotted him in Isle Royale National Park, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
Berg was injured and hypothermic after spending a week stranded alone in the national park’s extremely rugged terrain with no cell service, drones, or motorized vehicles, according to officials and the Detroit Free Press.
His wife, Debbie Berg, told the outlet that her husband arrived at the 207-square-mile park near Michigan’s border with Canada for an extended solo hike and was set to return home on Sept. 5 — but never arrived.
“He went on an extended hike there and did not show up when he was supposed to, to catch the ferry back,” Debbie said.
Dramatic video posted by the Coast Guard shows an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter hoisting the septuagenarian out of the vast wilderness before he was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The extent of the injuries he suffered and the circumstances of his disappearance are not yet known.
On Friday, a 45-foot response boat and a helicopter crew also transported troopers and K-9 units to Isle Royale to help search for the missing hiker from Royal Oak, the Coast Guard said.
“We’re thankful that missing hiker, Craig Berg, was found alive and alert on Isle Royale,” Lt. Ben Eckola, Michigan State Police Eighth District Public Information Officer, said in a statement.
The all-out search for the elderly adventurer was carried out with help from the National Park Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Public Safety, according to Eckola.
“We’re also thankful to the fellow hikers who helped, Isle Royale Seaplanes, and No One Left Behind K9 Search and Rescue. Everyone’s efforts played an important part in finding Craig,” Eckola continued.
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