The man who lost his way early into his solo fishing trip to Salmon Lake on Prince of Wales Island was found yesterday at about 12:40 pm after spending seven days in the wilderness without food.

Searchers looking for David Ford after he was reported missing by Taquan Air Saturday discovered his provisions largely untouched in the U.S. Forest Service Public Use cabin and surmised that he had gone missing shortly after his arrival at the Salmon Lake cabin. These observations were confirmed by Ford after he was found.

Ford said that he got lost the first night that he was there, he reported trying to find his way back to the cabin with a small flashlight but was unsuccessful. He said that he was dressed in layered clothing, and so, did not suffer hypothermia, but was never warm.

He continued to try and find his way back to the cabin each day, to no avail, but said that he managed to get back to his starting spot at the end of every day. He stated of his ordeal, “I had accepted the fact that I would die out there if no one found me.”

When asked about spending so much time in the wilderness without provisions, Ford said, “I lived on water; I guess I drank enough to stay alive.”

Rescuers provided Ford with clothing before walking him out to the cabin where an aircraft was waiting to fly him out to Ketchikan.