Authorities reported the discovery of a hiker alive two weeks after he went missing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge on July 6.
The Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team (WCSAR) in Kentucky announced on Saturday, July 20, that they had found Scott Hern, 48, “but in need of medical attention.”
ABC station WHAS reported that they last heard Hern on July 5, while he was traversing the gorge in search of waterfalls. According to family members, the hiker planned to visit some of the destinations he mentioned in his journal.
WCSAR earlier said that Hern’s automobile had not been moved from the Tower Rock Trail’s head since July 6, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
On July 20, the rescue organization issued another update, stating that the hunt for Hern had expanded to other places.
“We learned from [Hern’s] diary that he had visited Bell Falls along Highway 715,” the newspaper said. “We decided to proceed north up the creek to thoroughly clean the region, even though we had already searched the falls and some sections above them.” The search team discovered a shoe print and indications of a walking stick.
The WCSAR report continued: “They were moving up the creek when they heard someone call for aid. The five-person crew then labored for some time to find Scott on a steep hillside beneath a cliff line. The helicopter shows his position and evacuation site on the map. Red Star Wilderness EMS and WCSAR personnel responded to this location to provide care.”
WCSAR further stated that the Kentucky State Police launched a hoist operation due to Hern’s location in the difficult terrain and to provide him with medical attention.
Mr. Hern’s discovery after 14 and 12 days without food or drink is truly miraculous. We were tenacious in our search, but hope was dwindling,” WCSAR stated.
According to John May, chief of WCSAR, Hern’s odds of survival were slim after two weeks: “If you look at the chronology, the last time he was seen or heard of was on July 6, and his car had not been moved, and as the days went by, the hope of finding him alive was decreasing. Saturday [July 20] was our major push; if we hadn’t located him, we would have had to scale our activities down.”
Eric Wolterman, a WCSAR team member who was first on the scene with Hern, said on Facebook on Sunday, July 21, that he and the team had been working on the search operation since July 16 and had originally anticipated it would be a “recovery mission.”
“So I said a prayer knowing the family [of Hern] would probably be getting some very sad news that day,” Wolterman said.
Wolterman recalls the crew laboring up a creek on Saturday when they saw tracks in the muck.
“One of the people on the team heard a very faint noise,” she said. “We halted and yelled, ‘Who is that?’ I assume it was another search team. I suddenly heard, ‘Help.’ We took off in that direction. As we drew closer, I inquired what his name was, and he said, ‘Scott Hern.’ In my entire life, I’ve never walked faster upward.
Afterward, Wolterman wrote about first reaching out to Hern and assuring the stranded hiker of his safety and impending rescue. “He looked at me and said, ‘Thank you very much.” Will you hug me?” Wolterman wrote. “I shed tears and hugged him tightly. “I believe it was the best hug of both of our lives.”