Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@robert.schock318 / Pacific Northwest Trail Association
Topics: Health, Mental Health, US News, Nature, Washington
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Health, Mental Health, US News, Nature, Washington
A man has opened up about what happened when he went for a run with his dog and ended up going missing for a month.
On July 31, Robert Schock set out for a run with his dog Freddie in North Cascades National Park, Washington, planning on covering around 20 miles before going back home.
Wearing a pair of shorts, no shirt, and only carrying a dog pan in his small backpack, the 39-year-old musician ended up setting off on his run but not returning.
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Schock told PEOPLE he set out to follow a certain trail, but after crossing the Chilliwack River, he ended up getting lost.
With previous wildfires having altered the terrain of certain areas of the park, the trail Schock was trying to follow was reportedly 'no longer there'.
With no phone service, he was unable to search for directions or call anyone for help, and by the second day, his device ran out of battery.
What's more, as he was only wearing a pair of shorts and had no other clothes with him, his backpack was the only item he had to cover himself.
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By day three, reality set in, and Schock desperately tried to see if Freddie may remember or sense the way back.
In a bid to survive, Schock nested in an area which had been abandoned by bears, and ate berries and a large mushroom 'all day long'.
Schock says he spotted a helicopter overhead twice and tried 'screaming' and 'waving', but it didn't see him.
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Slowly, he felt his health declining, noting he could soon barely muster a 'scream for help' and 'was not doing very well'.
By August 30, Schock felt 'close to death' and was sat naked by a bank of the river.
"[I] knew I wasn't going to make it through the night. So I was like, ‘I'm going to scream one last time.’ I said, ‘Help!’" He said.
And thankfully, his cries were heard.
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Schock's screams were heard by members of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, who quickly provided him with clothes and stayed with him until he was airlifted to hospital.
Schock spent a month in hospital before traveling back to Ohio with his dad and stepmom.
While he's 'recovering pretty well' and gotten off relatively unscathed physically, bar being left with 'some underlying joint pain', Schock says the month being missing has certainly 'taken its toll' on him.
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He resolved: "I've aged several years because of it. Hopefully, I get those years back.
"[...] Never would I have dreamt that's the experience I was headed towards when I was going out for a run. Never did I dream that this kind of survival could ever even be possible."