Man lost for almost a week on Mount St. Helens survived by eating bees and berries
The parents of an Ohio man who went missing last week on Mount St. Helens said he survived by killing and eating bees and foraging for berries.
Last Thursday, Matthew Matheny borrowed a friend's Subaru Outback for an afternoon at Mount St. Helens. When he didn't come back, he was reported missing, and the car was found Saturday. Matheny was discovered "conscious and alive" on the flanks of Mount St. Helens Wednesday, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said, and he was rushed to a hospital in Vancouver.
Matheny's parents, Carney and Linda, told reporters their son is a nurse and interested in nutrition and health. "We think that may have saved him," Linda Matheny said. He has scratches on him and is dehydrated. "He never found water, but the berries must have had enough fluid to keep him going," Linda Matheny said.
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Her son decided to go to Mount St. Helens for the afternoon while his friends were at work, and he "had no idea how turned around he could get, how prepared people have to be," Linda Matheny said. Both parents thanked the search and rescue teams, and said they are "so grateful to everyone we encountered." Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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