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It started as a typical Tuesday morning for two men heading out on a work trail in the backcountry of northeastern British Columbia, Canada, when they spotted another man emerging from the wilderness.
They identified him as missing hiker Sam Benastek, who was reported missing more than a month ago, on Oct. 19, according to Northern Rockies RCMP.
He was found on the service road, supporting himself with two walking sticks and a cut-up sleeping bag wrapped around his legs for warmth.
Pinastick was reported missing after failing to return home on Oct. 17 from a 10-day camping trip to Redfern-Kelly Park, CNN affiliate CBC News reported.
Benacetek told police he initially stayed in his car for a few days before hiking to a creek near a mountain, where he camped for another 10 to 15 days.
He then travelled down the canyon and built a shelter in a dry creek bed, RCMP said. From there, Benastic walked to where the two workers found him.
KSAR deployed a team out of the area to help search for a Kamloops resident.
KSAR deployed a team out of the area to help search for a Kamloops resident. From Kamloops Search and Rescue
The men transported Benacek to a local hospital, where police attended and confirmed his identity, RCMP said.
"Finding Sam alive is the best outcome possible. After all the time he was missing, we were worried that wasn't the case," said Corporal Madonna Saunderson, communications officer for the BC RCMP.
His parents and brother stayed at the Buffalo Hotel in Pink Mountain, B.C., for more than 20 days during an intense search for their son, Mike Reed, the hotel's general manager, told CNN. Reed, who has developed an emotional connection with the family, said he provided them with free meals while they stayed at his inn.
"I have three children and five grandchildren, so I know what they were going through," he said.
Reid has stayed in touch with the family reunited at the hospital with Benastic. They told him their son nearly collapsed when the two workers found him on the road, leaning on two sticks because he was "very weak."
"He was in pretty bad shape, but he was alive," Reed told CNN.
"After Pinastick was released from the hospital on Thursday, he and his family stopped at the motel to see Reid on their way home," Reed told CNN Friday.
"It was an incredible moment for me," Reid said.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, several search and rescue teams were searching for him, along with Canadian forest rangers and "several local volunteers with extensive knowledge of the area."
In an interview with CBC News, Benastek's uncle, Al Benastek, described his nephew as an avid outdoorsman who suffered from "frostbite and some smoke inhalation."
He said it was "amazing" that his nephew had survived. "Imagine being out there, being cold for a long time."
