‘It Was Me And God’: Hunter Survives Weeks Lost In California Mountains

A California hunter who vanished in the Sierra National Forest on Oct. 13 was found alive Saturday after nearly three weeks in brutal conditions, leaning on faith and grit to make it out, officials and family said.

Ron Dailey, 65, set out for a day hunt near the Swamp Lake Trail and never returned, triggering a multi-agency search through steep, snowed-in terrain. He rationed what little he had — about 14 bottles of water and roughly 900 calories of food — before finally trying to walk out when his truck broke down and a storm buried the area, he told “CBS Mornings.” (RELATED: Police Dog Tracks Down 76-Year-Old Woman Who Got Lost For 20 Hours In The Woods)

“It was me and God every night,” Dailey said. “God woke me up at 6:45 Saturday morning. He goes, ‘Ron, get your boots on. Let’s go walking.’”

Dailey said he covered what felt like 10 to 12 miles at high altitude, stopping often, before three rescuers appeared, according to ABC News. Authorities said he was discovered by fellow hunters and taken for treatment; Fresno County’s search-and-rescue teams had spent “countless hours” combing rugged country for nearly 20 days.

He described the moment he realized he was in serious trouble after a wrong turn and heavy snowfall: “Oh man, I’m in trouble.” The storm dumped about two feet of snow on and around his disabled truck, he said.

Dailey was recovering in a Clovis-area hospital as of Monday, with family calling his survival “nothing short of a miracle,” according to ABC 7 News.

Dailey’s rescue capped an extensive effort that stretched across multiple counties and drew volunteers and law enforcement into some of the Sierra’s toughest terrain — and, by his account, a nightly prayer routine that never stopped.