Hiker lost for nearly a week in the Arkansas Desert found alive, says her sister

A Texas man who was lost during a hike in a remote mountainous area near Mena, Arkansas, was found alive after a search that lasted nearly half a year. a week, said his sister and his friend.

A research team found Joshua McClatchy of Fort Worth late Friday night, according to a Facebook post by his sister Miranda Balduf.

"It was spectacular to see the lighthouses approaching the dark distance, then to see Josh's face as the strongest men and women dragged him away," Balduf wrote. "Josh is fine, he just closed his eyes and will rest FINALLY."

McClatchy went missing on Saturday, June 1 after hiking on the Buckeye Trail in the wilderness area of ​​Caney Creek east of Mena. The sheriff's office described the location as "an isolated, rugged mountainous area" and stated that it's common for hikers to get lost, but that they usually end up in a few hours.

Family members told NBC affiliate, WRAL, that McClatchy had texted his mother last Saturday that he was lost while on a hike and needed to get out of bed. ;help. They said that he was an experienced hiker and that he was well prepared for the trip.

He turned 38 on Sunday, according to ABC WFAA affiliate in Dallas.

Sheriff D. Scott Sawyer said in a press release Wednesday that a team had searched the trail and had not been able to locate McClatchy, but had located his car at the beginning of the Buckeye Trail. The rescuers also searched Short Creek, an area just north of Buckeye Road, and conducted an aerial search.

It is not clear right away where McClatchy was found. The sheriff's office had not provided details about his rescue on Saturday afternoon.

"It's out of the question that I thank these guys enough," said John Obeidin, a friend of McClatchy, on Facebook on Friday night. "Josh comes home."

According to the US Department of Agriculture's website, trails in the area "are neither marked out nor tagged" and hikers need a map or compass for them. to explore.

The news of McClatchy's safe return home follows the rescue of Amanda Eller, a hiker who was found on May 24 after being lost for 17 days in a Hawaiian forest.