'Will to survive' helped missing 89-year-old hiker survive for 10 days

A recent missing hiker case out of Idaho has a happy ending with an 89-year-old hiker being found alive after leaving the trailhead behind 10 days prior.

According to the Custer County Sheriff's Office, Bing Olbum, 89 and of Ketchum, left the Hunter Creek Trailhead on August 1. This trailhead is located in the Salmon-Challis National Forest of east-central Idaho, with the national forest area spanning more than 4.3 million acres.

Olbum's camp was located late on the evening of August 10, with local residents setting out on horseback to find him. He was located at about 12:30 a.m. the following morning and returned to his home by 3 a.m.

"Bing's will to survive has resulted in an unbelievably good ending to this incident," said the sheriff's office. We hope that his recovery is swift, and he will be enjoying time with his family and friends."

According to a report from Idaho Mountain Express, Olbum was dehydrated but otherwise "alive and well." Additional information about how he survived has not been released, but may be made public in upcoming days.

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