A missing hiker who spent 50 days alone in the frozen wilderness of western Canada has been found alive.
Sam Benastick was found by two men heading to work near the remote Redfern-Keily Provincial Park, approximately 250km north-west of the city Fort St John, in the province of British Columbia.
The workers took the missing hiker to the hospital, where police confirmed his identity as Benastick, who had set out on a solo camping trip in the park on October 7.
Described as an avid outdoors enthusiast, Benastick was due to return from the 10-day trip on October 17, but when he failed to arrive home, his family reported his disappearance to police.
Benastick told his rescuers he stayed in his car for “a couple days” before walking to a mountainside creek where he camped out for approximately 10 to 15 days, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.
He later moved down the valley and built a camp and shelter in a dry creek bed, before eventually finding his way to the Redfern Lake Trail where on Tuesday he flagged down the two men who recognised him as the missing hiker and drove him to safety, according to police.
“Finding Sam alive is the absolute best outcome,” RCMP spokesperson Corporal Madonna Saunderson said.
“After all the time he was missing, it was feared that this was would not be the outcome.”
Following his disappearance, investigators said the missing man was believed to be carrying a tarp, a black Osprey backpack and other supplies when he set out on the excursion.
Police later said he was believed to be using a Honda dirt bike in the park when he disappeared.
Search and rescue personnel and police dogs were called in to help with the search effort but no sign of the missing man had been discovered.
Incredible police and firefighter rescues
Temperatures in the region have recently fallen below -20 degrees with accumulating snow, according to weather data from Environment Canada.
Redfern-Keily Provincial Park contains some of the most scenic and rugged landscapes in the northern Rocky Mountains, marked by distinctive glaciers, alpine tundra and abundant wildlife, according to British Columbia Parks.
