Hiker lost in northern Minnesota woods survives with help of his dog

A hiker who became lost in the northern Minnesota woods is alive thanks to his dog. 

The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office said they received a call shortly before 8 p.m. of a man lost in the woods near LaSalle Lake in Fern Township. 

According to the sheriff’s office, a 67-year-old Becida man was walking in the woods with his dog and a friend when he became ill. The pair was still two miles from their truck, but the 67-year-old was not able to keep up through the dense woods. They built a fire for him and the friend continued to the truck without him. 

However, when the friend returned to look for the man at the spot he had left him in the woods, he was no longer there. 

Deputies responded to the scene and began a search in the dark with the help of Minnesota State Patrol and hospital helicopters. The search was called off at 3 a.m. 

The search resumed the following morning. 

At 12:46 p.m., deputies located fresh shoe and dog tracks in the woods. Approximately 15 minutes later, they heard a dog bark and quickly located the missing man and his dog lying under a log trying to stay warm. 

The man told deputies he had fallen into the Mississippi River and got wet, but that he had huddled with his dog all night in an effort to stay alive, according to the sheriff’s office. 

Deputies escorted the man out of the woods, where he was met by an ambulance and checked for injuries. He received minor frostbite, but was otherwise uninjured.