Gene Penaflor was found by a group of fellow hunters on Saturday after being lost in the Mendocino National Forest in California for 19 days, CBS News reported.
Penaflor went deer hunting with a buddy on Sept. 24; while "flanking a deer on both sides," the two hunting partners split up and were going to meet down the path a few hours later for lunch, but the 72-year-old never showed up, according to CBS.
While making his way down a ridge, Penaflor slipped on a steep slope and hit his head, knocking him out for an unknown amount of time, according to CNN.
For those 19 days, Penaflor survived on the skills he knew; he kept himself warm with dry leaves and slept underneath a fallen tree. He had his hunting rifle, but didn't have the energy to use it to hunt for food, so he ate squirrels, lizards, snakes and some algae, CBS reported.
According to CNN, the temperature in the national park dropped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit on some nights, and even snowed several times during the 19 days Penaflor was lost in the forest.
About 20 agencies spent four days searching for Penaflor after his friend reported him missing a day later to the Mendocino County sheriff's office, who sent out the search party a day later, CNN reported.
According to CNN, the group of hunters heard cries for help leading them to bump into Penaflor. They made a gurney from sticks and their jackets and lifted him back up towards the road, where a helicopter met them to take Penaflor to the hospital.
Jeremy Penaflor, Gene's son said his father never stopped trying, and that his family did not give up hope.
"We knew he was out there," Jeremy Penaflor told CBS.
After authorities picked Penaflor up, he was taken to a hospital in the town of Ukriah on the edge of the forest. He was checked by the doctors and released back home, CNN reported.
