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Rescued California Hunter Details 18-Day Ordeal in Sheriff’s Video, Urges Better Preparedness

Ron Dailey says strict rationing kept him alive through nearly three weeks of isolation.

Overview

  • The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office released a video interview Friday in which Ron Dailey recounts his survival after an Oct. 13 trip went awry in the Sierra National Forest.
  • Dailey says he stretched roughly 900 calories into tiny daily portions and stayed hydrated by drinking melted snow.
  • He describes starting a fire with magnesium and flint, repurposing clothing and an emergency blanket for warmth and signaling, and composing farewell texts that never sent.
  • After abandoning his disabled truck, he was spotted by three hunters on Nov. 1 and taken to first responders before being hospitalized and later discharged.
  • Dailey reports losing about 25 pounds, beginning physical therapy and psychiatric follow-up, and says he is done hunting, as the sheriff’s office pushes back at online skepticism and plans a formal debrief.