An Ohio man found alive Wednesday on Mount St. Helens after six days lost in the wilderness sustained himself on berries and bees as he tried to find his way, his parents said.

Matthew Matheny, 40, of Warren, Ohio, set off for a hike on the famous southwest Washington mountain last Thursday. Authorities had launched a search and rescue operation that ended successfully when Matheny was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital Wednesday.

He was being treated mostly for dehydration and likely would stay overnight, parents Linda and Carney Matheny said during a press conference outside PeaceHeath Southwest Medical Center. A hospital spokesman said earlier that Matheny was in satisfactory condition, which means his vital signs were good and that he was awake and alert.

Matheny was scraped up, his parents said, including his feet, which were unprotected after the sandals he was wearing broke during the ordeal. His mother said she was going to "wring his neck" for his choice of hiking footwear.

Matheny was in Washington state visiting friends and decided to spend Thursday afternoon hiking while his friends were at work, the Mathenys said. He drove a friend's Subaru Outback to the mountain and later couldn't find his way back to the car. His friends reported him missing when he did not return, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said.

Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens 7 Gallery: Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens

On Saturday, a Skamania County sheriff's deputy found the Subaru unoccupied at the start of the Blue Lake trail, which is in Cowlitz County. The trail is located off Forest Road 81 and near Mount St. Helens.

Matheny was found about three miles away from the Subaru by a Skamania County-based rescue crew on the flanks of the mountain Wednesday morning. He hadn't seen another person since Thursday and was without water for days, his mother said, but the fluids from the berries may have been enough to keep him going.

Bees chased after Matheny as he moved about on the mountain, his father said, so Matheny killed and ate some.

"He knew it was a tough situation," said Linda Matheny, who arrived in Washington with her husband on Sunday. "But everyone who has encountered him have told us it's remarkable the condition he's in."

About 30 search-and-rescue personnel, assisted by helicopters, tracking dogs and a drone operated by the sheriff's office had been searching for Matheny daily, The Daily News of Longview reported. Matheny's friends and family also have been at the search scene.

Searchers on Tuesday decided to focus on a 1-square-mile area based on cellphone signals and a computer model that sought to predict Matheny's movements.

Charlie Rosenzweig, chief criminal deputy for Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, called it "extremely unusual" that someone would survive such an ordeal, the newspaper reported.

According to the Washington Trails Association, Blue Lake Trail is a short walk through meadows and tall fir trees to Blue Lake. Beyond the lake hikers can access other trails and ridges, leading to views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.

The parents described their son as a former Boy Scout who is interested in fitness and nutrition with a sense of humor and a knack for getting himself into humorous situations. They would recall some of the things he'd said or done to keep their moods light while the search was ongoing, but at times the laughter would turn to tears due to the uncertainty of the search's outcome, Linda Matheny said.

She said when they were called at their northeast Ohio home by authorities on Saturday and told the vehicle their son drove had been found, they waited by the phone for hours hoping the next update would be that he was found. It didn't come.

"By Sunday morning, we thought, 'We're getting on a plane,'" the mother said.

They flew to Portland that night, drove north to Washington, stayed in the area and went to the mountain on Monday.

The parents said they're ecstatic their son has been found and also in a bit of shock. They thanked all the emergency responders, volunteers and his friends who aided in helping find their son.

"We could not believe when we walked in here, he's sitting up in bed, getting fluids, talking to us," Linda Matheny said outside the hospital Wednesday. "We got Matt back."

— Everton Bailey Jr. and Jim Ryan

The Associated Press and Rebecca Woolington of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report