Lost California Hunter (72) Found After 18 Days In Woods

Thomas Linton

Thomas Linton

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Jun 16, 2003
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He was feared dead, but after 18 days alone in the Mendocino National Forest, a San Francisco resident has been found alive.

Avid hunter Gene Penaflor, 72, was located Saturday morning -- approximately 3.25 miles from where he went missing -- by a group of hunters at the bottom of a canyon. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a call from a member of the group around 8:30 a.m., and sent Search and Rescue units to the remote location where Penaflor was found.

Due to the rough terrain, it took several hours for the rescue units to reach the location, but in the mean time, the group of hunters assembled a makeshift stretcher from their coats and poles. They carried Penaflor up a steep hillside, toward the rescue teams, and eventually to an area where a helicopter could land to extract him.

He was taken to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for medical treatment and released in good health.

Penaflor's son, Jeremy, 31, was waiting for a BART train at the Lake Merritt station in Oakland on Saturday when he received a call from an official involved in the search.

"I asked him 'What's going on?'" Jeremy said. "Then he told me 'hunters found your dad.' I was just in shock. I was shaking."

There were times, Jeremy said, that he feared that call would never come, but he never gave up hope.

"He knew that terrain like the back of his hand," Jeremy said. "He's been hunting for 25-30 years. He reads survival magazines.

"There was times as the weeks went on where it was difficult, but I wouldn't say I lost hope. It was dwindling, he's 72 years old, but I knew knowing what he knew not to give up."

Just a day after his father was found, Jeremy was even able to make light of the situation.

"He's fine," he said. "It's like he went on vacation and came back with a beard."

Members of the family gathered at Penaflor's Bernal Heights home Sunday, where he's resided for 30 years, to watch the 49ers game.

During the first day of his hunt, Penaflor fell, hit his head and was knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he was disoriented and a thick bank of fog had made its way to where he was. After some time spent walking around the area, Penaflor was unable to determine which direction to travel and stopped moving.

He started a fire to keep warm and on days it snowed or rained, he took shelter under a log. He remained in one spot due to a nearby water source.

Temperatures fluctuated between 25 and 70 degrees during the nearly three weeks Penaflor spent alone. He fed himself by killing and eating squirrels in the area.

Penaflor didn't show up at a planned meeting spot with his hunting partner for lunch on Sept. 24 and was reported missing after a mandated 24-hour period. Various agencies assisted in search efforts that went on until Sept. 29, when they were suspended due to lack of clues and a significant incoming storm.
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He did enough things right to survive, but he probably should not have been alone in the first place.
 
Good news!

You can mistakes, meet bad luck, but still survive given some good sense. His experience saved him.
 
More details:

Gene Penaflor had a lighter, a knife and water with him when he went hunting. But Deborah Penaflor said the knife and water bottle somehow got lost in the fall. She had no further details.

Still, he had his rifle, and he was able to kill squirrels to sustain himself while he awaited rescue. He also had a source of water in a nearby drainage.

To stay warm, Gene Penaflor made small fires and packed leaves and grasses around his body. When it rained or snowed, he crawled under a large log and managed to stay dry, authorities said.

"He knew at some point he was going to die, but he figured he'd last as long as he could," sheriff's Detective Andrew Porter told the Ukiah Daily Journal.
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Admit. "After some time spent walking around the area, Penaflor was unable to determine which direction to travel and stopped moving."

Adapt. Changed tactics to new reality. Found a place to stay.

Improvise. Did what was needed with what he had.
To stay warm, Gene Penaflor made small fires and packed leaves and grasses around his body. When it rained or snowed, he crawled under a large log and managed to stay dry. . .
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Overcome.
He knew at some point he was going to die, but he figured he'd last as long as he could
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I think these are great stories and I like to read them. It is reassurance that when hiking and camping that keeping one's head is the more important thing they can do.

I can easily see me in a situation like that, but I don't know how well I would do for that long of a time. I have been bird/rabbit hunting many a time when we split up to work an area. While I have only become disoriented once, when I did, it took a while to get it back together and I was lucky enough to be able to walk out on my own. Still, I can see me telling my hunting partner, "hey Larry, I'm gonna go on down into that draw and see if I can flush something out... why don't you hustle over to the other side in case I do?" We are often out of touch when hunting for an hour or more, and it only takes a second to lose one's balance, misstep, or find a poor trail blocked from flooding, etc., making it necessary to abandon one's comfort zone. And in this guy's case, he was only FOUR miles from his own camp!

And always, I am reminded of how little (if any) a knife has to do with 99% of these real survival stories. Been said a million times... your brain is your most valuable survival tool.

Robert
 
Thanks for pointing that out, about knives. I am going to get rid of mine, and not carry one anymore. ;)
 
Details trickle in.

He woke up after spending what appeared to be a full day unconscious, with his chin and lip badly gashed. He noticed fog and morning dew and realized he'd been out for a while, Deborah Penaflor said.
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That's a great story! Anyone want to predict how much longer he could have sustained out there? He seemed to have the basics covered and was not falling ill. Although I'm surprised he made no effort to build a real shelter, given that he was staying put and had plenty of spare time. I would have done that almost imminently and would have kept a signal fire going at least part of the day.
 
The old gent did 18 days at age 72 with some outdoor knowledge, were some younger and stronger die within a week. Good for him.
 
Mannlicher said:
Thanks for pointing that out, about knives. I am going to get rid of mine, and not carry one anymore. ;)
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Probably no need to go that far. As a matter of fact, in one recounting of this adventure I have read, he started out with a knife, but it was lost in the fall. Don't know. I am relying on the press and on the internet, so take that for what it is worth. I wouldn't go out without a knife in my pocket.

But as Mr. Linton deftly pointed out at each stage of this man's situation, the guy was completely on his game mentally and did all the right things to save himself. No doubt that was what saved his life.

Robert
 
Killip considered turning back, but it had taken so long to get where he was… Anyway, he told himself, he must be close to the turn-off for Rock Lake. The hikers said they'd seen York. So Killip pressed on. He climbed south up the steep slope of what he assumed was Mt. Ida. He'd been in motion for more than twelve hours. It was about six p.m., and he'd drunk the last of his water about two o'clock. The sun was going down, and the temperature was dropping. The rain continued.
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Those who read the book, know where this goes. (Note he is getting dehydrated in the rain.)
 
When he woke up, he was disoriented and a thick bank of fog had made its way to where he was. After some time spent walking around the area, Penaflor was unable to determine which direction to travel and stopped moving.
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Thomas Linton said:
It's Pass/Fail. No points off for no map and compass.
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wonderful he passed

No points off for Map and compass????
And a Whistle?
 
It can be hard to gather rain without some sort of surface area product. Maybe the only thing he had for that was his jacket
 
SubaruSTi said:
Oops I misses that. I checked it out on CNN the other day was all.
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:o

Please note that the person mentioned in the OP was named Gene Penaflor.

I was trying to contrast his behavior with that of a different person named Killip. Killip was one person featured in Gonzales' famous book Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why None of Killip's behavior is mentioned in any story about Gene Penaflor.
 
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