20-Year-Old Man Found Alive After 8 Nights Lost In NC Forest

CARTERET COUNTY, NC — A 20-year-old man who was missing for eight nights in a swampy pine forest in eastern North Carolina has been found alive, the Carteret County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.

Croatan National Forest encompasses about 160,000 acres of coastal pine forests, blackwater swamps, bogs and salt estuaries, and is home to a variety of wildlife, including black bears, bobcats and alligators. The forest is about five hours east of Charlotte.

According to authorities, Joshua Kenneth Clauson of Newport, North Carolina was reported missing by family after he failed to return from a May 29 hike in the forest in an area near the Carteret and Craven county lines. When Clauson went missing, he was wearing a tank top and blue jeans, according to authorities.

Clauson's family told deputies that he went on a hike with a relative, but that the two got lost and then became separated. "The relative eventually found his way out on Rams Horn Road off Nine Foot Road by listening to the sounds of passing vehicles," CCSO said.

During the week, searchers scoured a 15-square-miles of the forest by air and on the ground. By Thursday, June 3 — after he was missing for five nights — the search conducted by dozens of agencies and more than 200 search and rescue professionals was called off.

“The search area proved to be challenging due to the extremely dense vegetation,” Sheriff Asa Buck said at the time. “Arial searches were severely limited due to the thick canopy making it impossible to see the ground throughout most of the area. Dense vegetation made it difficult for search teams to move throughout the area while conducting their searches as well as limiting their visibility on the ground level.”

The next day — Friday, June 4 — the region experienced torrential rain that prompted a flash flood watch.

Sunday, after eight nights missing, Clauson was found, the sheriff's office confirmed.

"On Sunday morning, a citizen called Carteret County Communications to report that a man walked out of a wooded area near the caller’s residence on Rams Horn Road in Newport, NC," CCSO said.

Clauson was transported to Carteret Health Care, where he was listed as in stable condition, CCSO said.

The sheriff, who said the search for Clauson was the longest one ever conducted in more than a decade, said the outcome was a miracle, WITN reported.