Missing Canadian snowboarder found alive

NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old snowboarder survived three nights on a Canadian mountain before being found Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said searchers discovered James William Martin about 2:30 p.m. in an area of Mount Seymour known as Suicide Creek and used a basket dropped from a helicopter to airlift him out, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

"His overall condition is unknown at this time, but it was reported to us that he was coherent," RCMP Constable Marlene Morton said.

Martin, who is believed to have moved to the Vancouver from Orillia, Ontario, last year, had set out snowboarding Sunday. His car and some belongings were found in a parking lot on the mountain Tuesday.

His mother, Debbie Martin, said she had faith her son would be found alive. She said he used outdoor skills learned from a lifetime of ice-fishing and camping.

"God looked after him. He made him safe and kept him safe," Martin told CBC News from her Ontario home. "All the survival tips that his dad taught him came to use. ... He's a survivor."