CAMPTON, Kentucky — A southern Ohio man who had been missing for two weeks after going hiking in the Daniel Boone National Forest was found alive.

Scott Hern, 48, had last been seen on July 6 before his rescue, according to the Wolfe County Search & Rescue Team. He is still recovering at UK Hospitals in Lexington, a news release says.

“It is truly a miracle that Mr. Hern was found after 14 days and 12 days without any food or water,” says a post from the search team on social media. “We were persistent in our search, but hope was fading.”

Hern had not told anyone he intended to go hiking in the Red River Gorge Area of the forest but he had been seen looking for directions on how to locate Sal Branch Waterfalls, the search team says.

After he was reported missing, his vehicle was found near the head of the Tower Rock Trail. Family members said his diary indicated several locations he planned to visit.

Twenty-five people from Wolfe County Search & Rescue, Powell County Search & Rescue, Red STAR Wilderness EMS and two canine units from Hunter Hounds searched for Hern for several days over rugged terrain, officials say. Despite receiving tips on his possible location, searchers were unable to find him.

On Saturday, the rescue team decided to again search near the falls area Hern had been searching for a located a walking stick and found a shoe print. A short time later they heard Hern yelling for help, the search team says.

Eric Wolterman, a member of the Wolfe County rescue team, says in a post on social media that the discovery of Hern was an emotional moment because searchers had begun to fear he was dead.

“I was the first one to get up to him and I said ‘My name is Eric, I’m with Wolfe County search and rescue, you are safe, we are going to get you out of here,’” Wolterman said. “He looked at me and said “Thank you so much. Will you give me a hug?’ I got teary-eyed and gave him a big hug. I think it was the best hug of both of our lives.”

Kentucky State Police used a helicopter and a hoist to rescue Hern and take him to a hospital. He reportedly was dehydrated and covered in dirt.

“It was a miracle, absolutely,” John May, the chief of the Wolfe County Search & Rescue, tells the Ironton Tribune. “People don’t live that long in the back country without food and water.”

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — If you’ve got your eye on a home, now may be the perfect time to claim it before it’s gone, according to a new housing market report which indicates we’re coming out of a slump.

The recent report revealed the nation’s housing slump deepened in June as housing sales slowed. Although June might have been a slump, Kentucky real estate agent Cynthia Trgo says, July is the month to buy.

“A lot of slow-down activity because people are traveling and doing more than they have the past few years because of COVID,” explains Trgo. “Right now it’s a little bit more a buyer’s market. We’ve got a lot more inventory that’s sitting and not as much competition for those buyers. So the buyers sitting on the sidelines wanting to make a move, now’s a great time to do that.”

In May 2023, total housing inventory sat at 2,425 homes. As of May 2024, there’s been a 16% increase, according to Bluegrass Realtor’s.

“So a healthy, stable real estate market is about four to six months of inventory. Right now, we’re sitting at about four-point-one. So this should give a lot of people confidence as to where our market goes and how stable we truly are,” said Trgo.

Today’s average interest rate is around 7% for a 30-year fixed home mortgage. Which is why a lot of sellers aren’t putting homes on the market. If those interest rates drop, home prices will increase.

“Depending on the type of market, whether you’ve got your luxury market, your entry level market. But we’re sitting around that 250 to 270-thousand-dollar mark,” Trgo explained.

According to Bluegrass Realtor’s, the average home spends 38 days on the market. If you have your eye on an open door, it might be time to close on it before you miss your chance.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Since his announcement, many have scrambled to make sense of what comes next for the Democratic party ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) next month and, more importantly, the election in November, when a new candidate will face former President Donald Trump.

Immediately following his announcement, President Biden offered his full endorsement to current Vice President Kamala Harris. While another candidate could be decided by the DNC, Harris is the only one who would have access to the millions of campaign dollars raised by the Biden-Harris ticket.

Harris released a statement Sunday stating she was honored to receive the President’s endorsement and plans to “earn and win” the nomination. As many prominent Democrats continue to announce their support of Harris and reports coming in Tuesday morning that she has secured enough delegates to secure the nomination, the conversation is turning to who would be her pick for vice president.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is one of the individuals named in the speculation. He fully endorsed Harris on Monday morning and while he did not clearly say whether or not he is being considered or if he would take the job, he said he would take another job only if “I could further help my people and to help this country” but also added “I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen.”

Beshear joined Kentucky business leaders on Tuesday at an exclusive event hosted by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce where he, of course, discussed the progress Kentucky has been making in recent years but also touched on many points related to the national political landscape.

Kicking off the event, Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts said it is always great to see Kentucky highlighted at a national level given that Beshear has been a part of the speculation on the vice president pick. She also noted the positive relationship the Governor has had with the business community throughout his time in office.

Kentucky Chamber Chair-Elect Scott Davis, CEO of Field and Main Bank, said it is an exciting time to build upon the successes of the Kentucky Chamber’s work. Davis also thanked the governor for his work with the business community.

In his remarks at the Chamber event with many of the state’s top business leaders, Beshear said he loves the Commonwealth of Kentucky and emphasized how meaningful his jobs as attorney general and now governor have been. He said seeing Kentucky front and center has been special to him and he hopes it is special to others, too.

“The rest of the country is yearning to be more like us in Kentucky. And it’s about time!” Beshear said. “And I don’t say that in a partisan way because it has taken everyone to get us to this point.”

Similar to what he said in national interviews, Beshear said people don’t wake up thinking about the presidential election but instead are worried about a good job, health care, safe infrastructure, public safety, and public education. “And none of those are partisan at all,” he said, adding the policies the state and even the nation need now are ones that lift up every person regardless of party.

“Elections are supposed to be years apart so you can stop being partisan and work with others to get things done,” he said, adding he does not care who gets the credit as long as policies are ensuring a state and country that is better for his children and everyone.

The Governor just returned from a trip to South Korea and Japan. He joked that he is still jet lagged from that trip and was when he did an interview the night before.

“I might have said some things,” Beshear said referencing his comments directed toward new Republican Vice-Presidential candidate and Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance.

Expanding on his trip, he said other countries are excited about what Kentucky is doing. Additionally, he said it is incredible to see the difference in the last four or even eight years.

“We are now the first call companies are making instead of claiming they don’t have our number,” Beshear said.

Pointing to another budget surplus announced in recent weeks and $32 billion in new private sector investments during his terms, the Governor said he is excited to see the growth in all areas of Kentucky.

“If any part of our state is not thriving, we are not succeeding,” he said.

In closing, Beshear said he plans to continue to give Kentucky everything he has regardless of where he is or what role he is serving in.

Stay tuned to The Bottom Line for more updates.