A Idaho A motorcyclist has been found alive almost a week after he went missing and has revealed the risky survival method he used while lost in the wilderness until help arrived.
Zachary Demoss, 24, was on a motorcycle trip out West with two other riders when they became separated and Demoss disappeared, leaving his friends worried he was in serious trouble.
Officials then received an SOS message from a Garmin inReach satellite communicator at 1.42am on 16 August.
“The first message did not indicate if there was an emergency and the second reported that the missing motorcyclist had been found alive but was in bad condition,” the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘A subsequent message from Garmin confirmed that the missing person was Zachary Demoss.’
Zachary Demoss, 24, was discovered alive in a “poor condition” by rescue crews after officials received an SOS message from a Garmin inReach at 1.42am on August 16.
Demoss was found at the Lost Creek Campground near mile marker 136 of Highway 12 and rushed to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula for treatment.
He later revealed that he had survived all those days by drinking water from a nearby stream.
DeMoss had disappeared on August 11 after taking a bicycle trip through several Western states with his friends Devlin Zarn and Aly Phan.
He was riding his 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle on Highway 12 in northern Idaho when the experienced motorcyclist disappeared.
The bike was later recovered from the road at the Eagle Mountain Trailhead.
After being rescued, the Sheriff’s Office saying‘Sheriff Ulmer would like to thank everyone who helped in the search for Zachary and we wish him the best in his recovery.’
In a photo posted by his mother Ruth Rickenbacher, DeMoss can be seen alive and well surrounded by family and friends.
Rickenbacher also told supporters that the parents of one of his best friends had found him.
DeMoss had disappeared on August 11 after taking a bicycle trip through several Western states with his friends Devlin Zarn and Aly Phan.
In a photo posted by his mother Ruth Rickenbacher, DeMoss can be seen alive and well surrounded by family and friends.
He was riding his 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle on Highway 12 in northern Idaho when the experienced motorcyclist disappeared.
She happily wrote: “MY SON Zachary DeMoss was found ALIVE!!! A miracle happened today. Thank GOD!!! I am now going to Saint Patrick’s Hospital.
‘GOD bless ALL the VOLUNTEERS, POLICE, IDAHO SEARCH and RESCUE, WESTERN STATES CATERPILLAR AND EMPLOYEES, SITETECH and EMPLOYEES, family friends and especially the CAMPERS WHO FOUND HIM, AND GOD… MIRACLES DO HAPPEN, he’s great.
‘The couple who found him was one of his best friends, his dad and his mom.
“He said he heard Greg and Daniel Commons’ voices and when he opened his eyes he felt so relieved.”
It remains unclear what caused DeMoss to disappear while traveling on the highway for days.
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