Explanation:
Alexander Jonas, age 58, went fishing Aug. 6 at Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee, when he noticed he wasn’t catching any fish. Deciding he needed more bait, Jonas, butterfly net in hand, left on what he thought would be a short trip to find some grasshoppers. “I was just zigzagging up and down the mountain,” Jonas told CNN News. “I didn’t see anyone for quite a while.” After a few hours, Jonas said it began to get late, and he decided he should probably head back to the fishing site. “That’s when the fun began,” he said.
Jonas began to make his way towards what he thought was the fishing site. But with darkness upon him at about 8 p.m., he decided to make shelter under a pine tree, covering himself with pine needles and willow branches in an attempt to stay warm. Jonas attempted to call 911, but a weak signal thwarted his efforts. Jonas continued his search for the help on Thursday. Weak from his lack of food and water, he adapted what he called his “survivor man routine,” drinking water out of puddles, regardless of what else was in it. “I thought ‘I’m going to keep walking, I’m going to get back to my wife,’” said Jonas, who lives in Tennessee. After trying to find a way back the whole day, Jonas came across a stream and began to follow it before the sun began to set. Setting up a camp of tree bark and needles, he slept for another night in the open wilderness. He was crushed to find on Friday morning that the stream came to a dead end. “At this point I’m thinking ‘Man, this is looking bad,’” Jonas said.
Jonas continued to wander in circles on Saturday till Tuesday, unsure of where he was or where to go next. Exhausted and hungry, he set up camp under a large rock. Jonas decided to find food and shelter the rest of his time, thinking he was lost forever. Now 3 weeks later Jonas is at home with a scarred mind but happy to be home with his wife.
