Ipswich police rescue man three days after serious fall in the woods

IPSWICH, Mass. — It was a race against time to save an injured hiker lost in the woods, but police were eventually able to rescue a man three days after he stopped responding to phone calls.

The 33-year-old man had no food, no water and no way to call for help after falling down a hill on a camping trip.

"The individual was not returning calls or returning text messages and that's what alarmed the family,” Justin Daly from the Ipswich Police Department said.

Investigators said the man, only identified by his first name Adam, often went camping for several days at a time, but this time his family began to worry when he stopped answering phone calls over the weekend.

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Daly said Adam went for a walk sometime Saturday and was seriously hurt when he fell down a steep hill, suffering injuries to his hand and leg.

Rescuers said that as Adam was free falling down the hill, his cell phone became detached and landed somewhere in the woods.

Without his cell phone, police said Adam could do nothing but wait and hope someone came to help him.

"He was in dire straits for sure. He was severely dehydrated. There were obviously signs from his lips, were very dehydrated. He was really confused, really unaware of where he was at the time,” Daly said.

Police were able to work with Verizon to pinpoint the location of his phone. They said once they narrowed down the spot, it took only 15 minutes to find their missing man. He was alive, but in very bad shape.

"He was confused. He was shaken. There were some injuries to his hand. He was [suffering from] hypothermia, and dehydrated,” Ipswich Fire Lt. Lee Prentiss said.

Cox Media Group