A 73-year-old man is lucky to be alive after his Jeep got stuck in a dry creek bed, leaving him stranded in a remote part of Oregon known as the "Oregon Outback." Gregory Randolph left his Jeep and began walking back towards civilization. After four days and traversing nearly 14 miles, Randolph collapsed on the side of a dirt road.
Luckily, Tomas Quinones, a mountain biker who happened to be in the area, saw Randolph laying in a heap and rushed over to check on him. He was dehydrated, badly sunburned, and could barely talk.
"As I got closer, I thought, 'That's a funny-looking cow,' and then, I realized that this was a man," he told the Associated Press. "I started noticing that he sometimes would look at me, but his eyes were all over the place, almost rolling into the back of his head. Once I got a better look at him, I could tell that he was in deep trouble."
Quinones used an emergency GPS tracking device to call for help because there was no cellphone service in the remote area. He sat with Randolph and helped him unfurl his tent until an ambulance arrived. While they were waiting, Randolph's pet Shih Tzu emerged from the brush and Quinones fed it some peanut butter. After about an hour, paramedics arrived and took Randolph to the hospital where he was treated and released a few days later.
Deputies began searching for Randolph's Jeep and his second dog. After two days they finally found the disabled Jeep deep in the wilderness. When they arrived, his other dog was still waiting by the vehicle. They believe the dog managed to stay alive by drinking puddles of water.
Randolph was reunited with his two dogs and is recovering at his home.