A 76-year-old Vietnam War veteran has recounted his terrifying five-day ordeal of getting lost in the Arizona wilderness. He survived extreme conditions and rattlesnake encounters. At one point, he even drank his own urine and slept under trees.
Mark Eric Young travelled to the Verde Valley after attending a wedding and decided to extend his stay with a solo trip to Bloody Basin on April 16.
When he didn’t show up for dinner the next day, his family got worried and alerted the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, which then launched a search to find him, according to the NY Post.
Young, who lives in North Carolina, said he had done this trail several times before but this time he accidentally lost his way. “I blundered. I got off the wrong trail,” he said.
Despite being a Vietnam veteran with two tours of duty, he said this was the scariest situation he had ever faced, as he had never gone five days without water in his life. He said he even grew up camping and hunting in the Arizona wilderness.
Each night, he said he tried to stay safe by sleeping under cedar and pine trees, using whatever little he had with him like a compass, some water bottles, lighters, and water purification tablets to survive in the tough conditions.
“I’ve never been without water for five days,” he said.
Young also recalled a time when he encountered a rattlesnake. He told 12News that when he turned a corner he saw the snake rattling towards him and then tried to strike him, but luckily it didn’t reach him.
“Well, maybe he saw me early, because he was rattling, and he struck, but he was short on that strike, and then I stoned him to death,” he said.
By the third day, he had completely run out of water and with no other option to stay alive, he collected his urine in a bottle and drank it. “So I urinated in my canteen and drank it because I knew I had to, to survive,” he said.
Rescue teams from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, who were searching the area along with all seven of his children, found his car first and then started following clues on the ground, including the dead rattlesnake he had killed.
On the fifth day, Young heard voices nearby but didn’t realise at first that it was his own family but he shouted for help. That’s when two of his sons, Paul and Josh, found him. “I heard him talking. I didn’t know. I had no idea that it would be my sons, okay, and or my family. I just yelled out because I was really worn out,” he said.
Young was then rescued by a helicopter from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and taken to a hospital, where he was treated for dehydration.
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