A father and his 12-year-old son were safely pulled from a narrow cliff ledge in southwestern Utah after getting lost and surviving off the contents of a backpack left behind by a previous hiker — and the dramatic rescue was captured on video.
The two were trapped overnight in Snow Canyon State Park last week, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a news release.
After rescue teams searched into the early morning, video shows a helicopter crew using night vision to spot the straded pair on the cliffside. Rescuers rappelled down from the aircraft, put harnesses on the boy and his father and hoisted them up.
“In a twist of fate, the hikers found a backpack left behind by another hiker previously rescued from the same area,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said. “Inside were food, water, and emergency blankets that the two were able to utilize.”
The father, identified as Julian Hernandez by local media, told Fox 13 that without the bag, he probably “wouldn’t be talking about it.”
That backpack belonged to 15-year-old Levi Dittmann, according to local media. Dittmann had gotten stuck in the same area in January and had to toss his bag, thinking all the supplies had gone to waste.
“I’m really glad that it could help people because that’s what the pack was intended for,” Dittmann told Fox 13.
