S.F. man lost in woods, survives on squirrels, lizards

A 72-year-old San Francisco man was recovering Sunday after he spent 19 days lost in a remote canyon of Mendocino County, surviving on squirrels, lizards and berries, and wrapping himself in leaves and grass to stay warm.

Gene Penaflor was on a hunting trip with a friend Sept. 24 in the Bloody Rock area of the Mendocino National Forest when he apparently wandered from the road, hit his head and passed out, he later told rescuers. When he awoke, fog had rolled in and Penaflor became disoriented.

His friend alerted the Mendocino County sheriff's office the next morning that Penaflor was missing, and search-and-rescue teams from 18 agencies descended on the area to look for him.

On Saturday, a group of hunters in the area reported they heard someone in a canyon calling for help. Using the hunters' GPS coordinates from their cell phones, search-and-rescue teams headed for the wooded, rugged site in the Yuki Wilderness.

Meanwhile, the hunters created a makeshift stretcher from coats and poles and headed into the canyon to rescue the man, who identified himself as Penaflor. They were carrying Penaflor up the hillside when they met the search-and-rescue crews, who called for a helicopter to transport him to a hospital.

Penaflor was found about 3 1/4 miles from where his friend had last seen him. He survived by staying under a log during cold spells - including several snowfalls - and catching squirrels, lizards and other small animals for food. Water was plentiful in the area, he told Mendocino County sheriff's deputies.

"(We)'d like to thank the group of hunters who ... went above and beyond in trying to locate the person calling for help," said Mendocino sheriff's Lt. Shannon Barney. "Their quick thinking to notify rescue teams ... was critical to his being returned alive to his family."