A missing man in the Red River Gorge area of the Daniel Boone National Forest was found alive Saturday, two weeks after he was last seen.
The Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team said in a Facebook post Saturday afternoon that they were “surprised to report” that Scott Hern had been found “alive but receiving medical attention.”
Hern, 48, was found in a remote location and rescued by plane, the team said.
Teams searched for Hern for days. His family in Ironton, Ohio, said they last had contact with him on July 5.
“It is truly a miracle that Mr. Hern was found after 14 days and 12 days without food or water,” Wolfe County Search & Rescue said in a later release. “We continued our search, but hope faded.”
On Saturday, searchers decided to “expand areas that had not been previously or fully searched,” according to Wolfe County Search & Rescue.
“We learned from his journal that he had visited Bell Falls along Highway 715. Although the falls had been checked previously and even some areas above the falls, it was decided to move further north up the creek to fully clear the area. The search party found a shoe print and evidence of a walking stick in an area where few people go.
“They continued to push up the creek when they heard someone calling for help.”
A team of five people eventually found Hern “at the top of a steep slope below a cliff.”
Due to the difficult topography, Kentucky State Police were called in to perform a hoist operation. According to the rescue group, this was “the quickest way to permanently treat him and reduce the risk to rescuers by avoiding a long and difficult operation.”
According to the rescue organization, Hern visited several waterfalls in the area in recent months and his car was found at the start of the Tower Rock trail.
“We believe his vehicle has not been moved since July 6,” Wolfe County Search and Rescue said earlier this week.
Visitors were asked to stay away from the areas between the Gladie Visitor Center and the Osborne Bend trailhead while the search was underway.
