Missing hiker in California rescued after 10 days: 'A very emotional and raw moment'

(NewsNation) – A California man survived nine days in the wilderness with only the clothes on his back, a flashlight and a pair of scissors.

Lukas McClish, 34, had embarked on a hike in California's Big Basin State Park on June 11, expecting it to take only three hours. But wildfires in recent years had changed the landscape of the park, wiping away familiar markers with which he had previously familiarized himself.

McClish was reported missing by his family on June 15.

“His father’s a retired fire chief from the local districts, and he pretty much never stopped hiking from what I heard,” said Steve Kuehl, an emergency rescue photographer who has also known McClish's family for years.

“He had been up for days, hiking for days, looking in all parts of that area and around our district.”

McClish reportedly survived by drinking water from his boot, eating berries and sleeping on a bed of wet leaves.

Ten days after he embarked on his hike, McClish's cries for help were heard by a retired firefighter, Kuehl said.

“[His] house burned down in the CZU fire that came through here about four years ago,” according to Kuel. “And with all the foliage removed in the canyon below his house, he was able to hear Lukas calling for help.”

A drone operator with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office ultimately spotted McClish in the forest on the 10th day of his disappearance. A canine helped rescue crews locate McClish in the remote area.

“We are grateful to have taken part in the rescue of McClish with the help and support of our mutual aid partners,” Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit told Nexstar's KRON.

Photos of the McClish reuniting with family, taken by Kuehl, show the hiker covered in dirt but able to walk on his own.

“It was obviously a very emotional and raw moment for everybody. Because at that moment, all the responders that were there got to see a mother seeing her son alive for the first time in almost weeks, not knowing what happened to them,” Kuehl said. “So, it was a powerful moment.”

Miraculously, rescuing agencies confirmed McClish had no major injuries when he was found.