Quesnel Search & Rescue Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) rescued Andrew Barber from a remote area of Canada on Friday, Aug. 8 Barber, 39, who had been reported missing nine days prior, had spelled out the word "Help" using rocks and mud before he was found, according to the BBC "He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated," Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon said, per theVancouver Sun A man has been rescued from Canada's wilderness after relying on his survival instincts for over a week. On Friday, Aug. 8, a police helicopter flying from Prince George spotted Andrew Barber's truck in a remote area north of McLeese Lake, nine days after the 39-year-old had initially been reported missing, local outletsVancouver Island Free Dailyand theVancouver Sunreported, citing Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Brad McKinnon. Barber was found not far from his truck alongside a shelter he had made out of mud and sticks, with the word "Help" spelled out using rocks and mud, according to theBBCandVancouver Island Free Daily. "After over a week in the wilderness, our subject has been located alive during today's search from the air," Quesnel Search & Rescue, an area volunteer search and rescue group, wrote onFacebook. Williams Lake RCMP/Facebook "This outcome is the result of countless hours on the ground and in the air, using every resource and piece of technology available to us," they added, alongside a photo of Barber's makeshift shelter. Barber was taken to Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake after being found in poor health, per theVancouver Sunand CBC. "He sustained some injuries and was severely dehydrated, we found him at the right time," McKinnon toldVancouver Island Free Daily. "If we had not located him today, I don't know if we would have had the outcome that we have today." "He was literally slurping unclean pond water to stay hydrated," he added, per theVancouver Sun. "The human body can go a long time without food, but water is a different situation." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. PBNJ Productions/Getty Having eaten whatever he could find in the wilderness, Barber's survival tactics also included stuffing his clothes with grass to protect himself from the elements, Quesnel SAR (Quesnel Search and Rescue) president and manager Bob Zimmerman toldCBC. "He was having a hard time standing. I don't know that he would have made it another 24 hours without us recovering him," Zimmerman said of Barber, per the outlet. https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf McKinnon said it remains unclear why Barber was in the "boggy" and remote area of the Cariboo region of British Columbia, theVancouver Sunreported. However, he confirmed that Barber is "doing quite well," having now been released from the hospital. "I'll put it this way — had we not found him when we did, I would have had graver concerns than I currently do," he told the outlet. "We had been at this for nine days, and it was essentially like looking for a needle in a haystack." Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Quesnel Search and Rescue did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Tuesday, Aug. 12. Read the original article onPeople
