86-year-old man survives 5 days in bush

An 86-year-old Winnipeg man survived five days in a rugged area of Manitoba bush. He was found on September 6, tired and dehydrated.

Joseph Kuz, 86, who was used to walking through the woods, had been dropped off Thursday to hike into a cabin about 100 kilometres east of Winnipeg. He was reported missing on Friday. Staff Sgt. Mike Hengen found Kuz after his ATV became stuck in a swampy area. He had turned off the vehicle’s engine and was trying to push it when he heard moaning. He made his way through about 40 metres of bush and found Kuz lying on his back. "I just walked over to him and said are you Joe?” CBC News quoted Hengen as saying. “He moaned. I reached over and shook his hand and he wouldn't let go. I knew he had enough strength in him and I knew he'd be OK. I felt I'd won the lottery. "I could see he was very exhausted and dehydrated. He said to me, 'I don’t know if I could've made it any longer.' " Kuz said he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since getting lost. He knew people were searching for him but he didn’t have the strength to call out to them. More than 40 ground searchers, as well as an air patrol, took part in the search. On Friday, a 66-year old Winnipeg woman who went missing while picking mushrooms was found. Nadia Monaco spent two nights in the bush of Belair Provincial Forest.