Missing man, 25, found after surviving five days off berries and bugs
A 25-year-old man who went missing during a hike has reunited with his family after five days of eating bugs and berries.
Kaden Laga, who was on a horseback-riding trip on the border of Montana and Idaho, got lost Aug. 10 after a family member's horse went lame. Kaden, a strong hiker, had offered to walk ahead to their next camp site, but took a wrong turn.
As part of their search effort, Kaden's friends and family started a Facebook page that's now more than 4,600 fans strong, "Search for Kaden Laga," which posted updates on volunteer efforts to find him.
Nearly a week of ground and air search turned up nothing, until 2:45 a.m. Friday.
"WE FOUND HIM!!" read a post on the page that morning. Kaden and his worn-out hiking boots found a rescue camp, thanks to a headlamp that was left on the trail.
By Sunday, Kaden was safe and sound and ready to talk about his experience on camera.
In an interview with Montana's KPAX and Fox 13, Kaden shared that the berries and crickets he ate in the woods were "pretty much tasteless. I told my niece it’s like unbuttered popcorn."
But there were dark times. There were rescue helicopters that flew right by him and cold nights he feared he wouldn't survive.
Kaden said that at one point he worried he'd never see his wife, Arden, again or meet their unborn son. He wrote a message on his phone saying, "In case I don't make it out of here, I love you, I've loved my life with you, and I'm so sorry I left you to be a single mom."
On the Facebook "Search" page, Kaden made a video appearance with Arden to say: "I've been just overwhelmed, coming back and just seeing all the effort that everyone has put in. ... I'm happy to be alive. Thank you guys so much."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Missing man, 25, found after surviving five days off berries and bugs
