FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — A 70-year-old Fresno man who disappeared after heading out on a fishing trip was found alive in a remote wilderness area on Independence Day, authorities said.
Rondy Packard Sr. was reported missing after he did not return home from a fishing trip on the morning of June 28. Later that afternoon, a resident reported seeing him driving his Nissan pickup east near Pine Flat Lake. Search and rescue officials said his cellphone also pinged in the same general area.
According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Packard’s family first searched for him on their own before authorities broadened the effort into a formal search operation.
“Really, really, really happy news. We’ve been searching for Rondy Packard for a couple of days now,” Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Lt. Kathy Curtis said.
The sheriff’s office sent members of its Search and Rescue Team into the rugged terrain around Pine Flat Lake, launching both ground and aerial searches across the remote region.
“You can just imagine the stress that this family has been under for almost a week now,” Curtis said. “And of course, we’re concerned, because the weather is heating up, and we don’t know what his situation was as far as food or water.”
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Around 1 p.m. Saturday, a volunteer with the Air Squadron spotted Packard’s truck in a highly isolated area roughly 20 miles northeast of the lake, the sheriff’s office said.
Search crews arrived at the site about an hour and a half later and located Packard near his pickup.
Because of the rugged terrain, a California Highway Patrol helicopter hoisted Packard from the scene and transported him out of the area for medical treatment.
“His family is incredibly ecstatic. They’re with him right now; he’s at the hospital receiving treatment, and they’re all together. Everybody’s very, very, very happy,” Curtis said.
Officials said Packard did not suffer any major injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
Authorities are continuing to work to learn more about how and why he remained missing in the wilderness for so long.
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