ST. GEORGE, Utah, July 14 (UPI) -- A young autistic man who set out to hike through 50 miles of mountain and desert in southern Utah was found weak and emaciated but alive, authorities said.
William LaFever, 28, of Colorado Springs, was spotted Thursday afternoon by a search helicopter, CNN reported. His family raised the alarm after not hearing from him for a month.
LaFever, who was taken to a hospital in St. George, Utah, told his rescuers he had survived on roots and frogs after his food ran out. He lost 50 pounds.
He was sitting in the bed of the Escalante River in southern Utah and still had enough strength to wave to the helicopter.
"We came around the corner and we were pretty amazed to see him alive and sitting up," Shane Oldfield, a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter pilot, told CNN.
LaFever's family said William, who is autistic and has obsessive compulsive disorder, lives on disability benefits. He called his father in early June and said he was in Utah and planned to walk from Boulder south to Lake Powell, where he hoped to get a boat ride to Page, Ariz.
LaFever started off with his dog, which ran away. Officials say the animal may have been found.
He also ditched or lost much of his gear. By the time he was found, he had only the clothes he was wearing and a cigarette lighter he used to start a fire at night.
