On Sunday, Harry Harvey, 80, was reported missing at 1:30 pm after he became separated from his walking partner while out hiking in the Yorkshire Dales, in the northeast of England.
The Royal Air Force (RAF), the police, and mountain rescue workers spent four days searching for the 80-year-old experienced hiker and a press conference was planned for Wednesday at The Tan Hill Inn, located within the national park.
But the press conference turned into a celebration when Harvey turned up at the pub.
A wildlife photographer had spotted him while out on the moors and contacted rescuers. While seated by a roaring fire in the country pub, he described being “caught in a really heavy hailstorm” with “howling gales and winds.”
“By the time I got my kit on it was really dark,” he said at the press conference, broadcasted by The Tan Hill Inn on Facebook Live. Harvey said he then reverted to “plan B” by finding somewhere safe to camp and setting up his tent.
When asked about his injury, he said that he came off a bridge and lost his glasses and his compass. Fortunately, the orange frames of his glasses made it easy for him to find them.
“If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have come back.point 179 | I could do without all of this,” Harvey said.point 218 |
“I had three really good wild camping nights where I was on my own and had all the kit I needed.point 82 | The only thing I was getting a bit short of… I’ve got a hell of appetite… and when I get hungry I’ve got to get something to eat or I can’t go on.point 226 |
”point 7 | 1
More than 100 mountain rescue members took part in the search for Harvey, as well as search dogs, police officers, and members of the RAF.