A UK-based journalist who vanished during a solo hike in Norway has been found alive after surviving five harrowing days alone with almost no food.
Alec Luhn, an experienced mountain walker and seasoned climate reporter, was discovered deep in Folgefonna National Park with a broken leg.
The 38-year-old had been absent since the previous week after embarking on a solitary hike through the secluded national park, which is the location of one of Norway’s biggest glaciers.
American-born Luhn failed to board his return flight to the UK from Bergen on Monday, sparking a full-scale search.
His wife, Emmy-award-winning journalist Veronika Silchenko, informed The New York Times that she had received a text message from Luhn on Thursday outlining his intended path but became worried when she didn’t receive any more communication from him.
By Sunday, alarm bells were ringing — and when he missed his flight on Monday, she alerted authorities.
“I just really want him back. I can’t sleep or eat properly. It’s very hard not to know anything,” Silchenko said before the dramatic rescue.
The rescue effort was suspended temporarily due to brutal weather conditions.
Tatjana Knappen from Vestland police said: “Weather conditions started to get really bad around midnight.
“It was not reasonable to continue the search up in the mountains.”
But against all odds, Luhn was found alive by a 30-strong team of volunteers, police, drones and dogs.
“He is seriously injured, but not critically injured,” Geir Arne Sunde, head of the local air ambulance service and trauma centre, confirmed.
Luhn had suffered the leg injury on the first day of his hike but still managed to cling to life in the desolate 136,000-acre park.
Stig Hope, a Red Cross volunteer and head of the operations team, said: “I can’t remember us finding someone alive after so many days.
“The search doesn’t always end like this – but today, it did.
“It’s a huge relief for everyone who’s been part of the effort.”
Luhn, whose writing has appeared in esteemed publications such as The New York Times, had been vacationing with his sister before venturing out alone on July 31 from an outdoor center in Ullensvang.
His wife noted it wasn’t unusual for him to take off-grid solo hikes, and he was believed to be well-equipped.
The journalist’s broad career has brought him from the oil fields in Texas to the drought-stricken regions of Somalia and on board climate research vessels in the North Sea.
A fellow of the Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network, Luhn has built a reputation for fearless field reporting.
It comes after a Brit woman who vanished from a Greek beach was last pictured with her husband just three hours before her mysterious disappearance.
Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, had been having a snack with her husband, Christos, at a café by the beach on Ofrynio beach in Kavala shortly before she disappeared.
The image, released by Greek outlet ANT1, shows the couple sitting together after a morning swim.
Michele appears calm in a dark swimsuit and sunglasses, while her husband wears a white cap.
The pair had arrived early and spent hours by the sea when Christos reportedly dozed off — only to wake up and find his wife gone.
The Brit was last seen wearing a two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes, and red sunglasses.
