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ALPINE COUNTY, Calif. — A West Sacramento man who was lost for five days in the wilderness near Lake Tahoe was found after he thought to spell out the word “help” using pine needles.
For the first time this year, Mike Vilhauer went fishing on Aug. 6. He did so on the recommendation of a friend, according to local station CBS13, who said there might be fish in one of the reservoirs just south of Lake Tahoe in Alpine County. Without any luck, he moved to another lake nearby, and struck out again.
Deciding to change up bait, he walked away from his fishing spot to find some crickets and catch them with his butterfly net. He ended up getting lost, however.
“I was just zigzagging up and down the mountain,” Vilhauer told ABC News. “I didn’t see anyone for quite a while.”
He made a shelter as night fell, and attempted to call 911, but couldn’t get adequate service.
The next day he attempted to find the lake he was fishing at, but walked in circles, relying on streams for water.
At one point, the Los Angeles Times reported, Vilhauer used a knife to scrawl a letter to his family apologizing for getting lost.
After five days, he noticed a helicopter scouting the skies. Rescue crews from multiple counties had been searching for him, and diving teams had scoured the lake he was fishing in before he went missing, according to the Times. He waited for them to see him, but realized they wouldn’t without assistance. On the edge of a stream, he spelled out “help” using pine needles, creating an 8- to 10-foot long signal.
He was rescued shortly after, exhausted but uninjured.
Vilhauer told the Times he felt “bad and guilty” for necessitating a search effort.
