Missing hiker had no food for one week in the wilderness

PASADENA, Calif. (FOX11) - A 73-year-old hiker who survived a week alone in the mountains near La Canada Flintridge with no food is now recovering at a Pasadena hospital, just one day after being rescued.

Eugene Jo was separated from his group in the Mt. Waterman on Saturday, June 22, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The following Tuesday, teams searched approximately 1,200 acres at an elevation of 3,200 feet in the area between Three Points and Mt. Waterman.

Multiple agencies throughout the state helped to locate him.

On Saturday, a week after get got lost, officials found him near Devil's Canyon. He was hoisted in a helicopter by medics to Huntington Memorial Hospital. Officials say he had no traumatic injuries.

"There was lots of tears, lots of joy,'' she said. "He's just so happy and thankful to be back, but he said no more hiking.''

Jo survived by finding a fresh water source in a creek, and wrapping himself up with his one blanket.

"He had no food,'' said Janet Henderson of the LASD's Search and Rescue. "He obviously knows about some type of survival, he was looking for mountain strawberries, he was trying to catch frogs to eat, but he has not had anything to eat in a week.''