A 73-year-old boater whose raft capsized survived in the snowy Idaho backcountry for five days without food — before he was found just after he had given up and rescued, according to authorities.
Thomas Gray’s incredible tale of survival — which included eating snow, drinking creek water and hiking 23 miles with an injured leg — began during a three-day trip earlier this month on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
He was rafting down Dagger Falls on May 18 to meet his wife the next day when his boat flipped over, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Gray was thrown to the base of the falls and forced to swim to shore with the raft out of reach.
The septuagenarian, who had suffered a leg injury, hiked toward a launch site where he found shelter in an outhouse for two nights, the sheriff’s office said.
During the day, he unsuccessfully looked for other floaters on the Middle Fork.
After coming up empty, he then walked toward another location, the Fir Creek Pass, and found shelter at a snowmobile club trailer. While there was a wood stove in the trailer, Gray couldn’t find any matches, the sheriff said.
Meanwhile, authorities were furiously searching for the missing man after his punctured cataraft was discovered in the water.
After a night in the trailer, Gray continued on his journey toward the pass, but “became too exhausted” and laid down in the snow.
He hadn’t eaten food in days and was only relying on taking bites of snow and drinking water from the creeks to hang on, the sheriff’s office said.
“Tom was totally exhausted; he decided this was it. He just laid down in the snow and said a prayer,” said Custer County sheriff’s marine deputy John Haugh, according to KSL.
“He was resigned that this was not going to end well.”
But as he lay there in the snow, the owners of an excursion business spotted him.
Steve and Annie Lentz, of Far and Away River Adventures, quickly reached him with their vehicle and first responders who were on board rendered aid.
“If they hadn’t come along, he probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer,” Haugh said, according to the station. “He was in pretty bad shape when they got him.”
Gray’s younger brother, Robert Gray, actually died in 2022 when his raft flipped over in around the same area, Haugh reportedly said.
“Tom called me and said I was his ‘lifesaver,’ but I said, ‘No, I’m just your Uber deputy,’” Haugh said.
