(CNN) An intense search in Northern California ended joyously on Saturday when rescue teams found a couple in their 70s who went hiking more than a week ago and got lost in dense forest, said Sgt. Brenton Schneider of the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Carol Kiparsky, 77, and Ian Irwin, 72, are now recovering in a hospital after being located near Shell Beach in Tomales Bay State Park. The two suffered from hypothermia but were able to stay alive because "they were drinking from a puddle," Schneider said.

Kiparsky had lost her shoes and neither had eaten in more than a week, but Irwin had enough spirit to begin singing as rescuers approached, Schneider said.

Their family is "ecstatic to say the least," Schneider said.

Kiparsky and Irwin were last seen February 14 at a vacation rental home in the Inverness/Seahaven community north of San Francisco.

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