Search for missing man in Kentucky ends in ‘miracle’

WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – An effort to find a missing man ended in what rescuers are describing as a miracle over the weekend.

“I am personally not that religious, but ‘miracle’ is the word that comes to mind,” said David Fifer, an advanced practice paramedic with RedSTAR Wilderness.

On July 6, Scott Allen Hern from Ironton, Ohio, was seen in the Red River Gorge area on his way to see Bell Falls. He wasn’t seen again for 14 days.

“Apparently, he got a little disoriented; he got tired. He tried to take a nap or a sleep under this rock shelter and took a tumble while sleeping and injured himself,” said John May, chief of Wolfe County Search and Rescue.

Hern’s car was ticketed the next day in the park since it didn’t have an overnight parking pass. However, it wasn’t until July 13 when a missing person’s report filed triggered an alert to Wolfe County Search and Rescue.

“That evening, I received a call about 8 o’clock, and once we realized he hadn’t been seen since the 6th and this was now the 13th, we dispatched team members that evening,” May said.

Using things like Hern’s diary, search and rescue teams began the daunting process of searching the rugged terrain, with teams from across the state assisting.

Fifer with RedSTAR Wilderness explained rescuers’ concerns, saying, “When somebody is not found for a couple of days, you do tend to think you are looking for maybe a deceased individual.”

John May even went as far as clarifying that “Finding him alive was a very remote possibility. I had even started to prep the family, saying, ‘I didn’t think this was going to turn out well.’”

However, this weekend, on the final push of the search, their miracle happened.

“It actually began with a report that they were hearing cries for help – that was the first report that came across the radio,” Fifer recalled. “And then when they confirmed it was actually Mr. Hern who they had found. It’s just an amazing feeling”

“Fortunately, he was alert enough to yell out for help,” said May. “They would have not found him most likely where he was at. It was just too thick underneath the cliff line.”

After 14 days in the wilderness, Scott Hern was severely dehydrated but safe. He was immediately taken to a hospital for further care but not before making a request to rescuers.

“One of our team members that got to him first, the first thing Scott said to him is ‘Would you give me a hug?’ Kind of gets you choked up when you hear it cause he had been out there for so long and didn’t think he was going to live, and he just wanted a hug,” said May.

Hern was reported to have only six bottles of water with him and a bag of trail mix, which he finished on July 8, meaning he went 12 days without food and water. As of this report, he is doing well and on his way to recovery.

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