Posted on 07/01/2008 6:10:11 PM PDT by Coffee200am
A Brazilian student lost in the Amazon rainforest for almost 50 days died in his father's arms within minutes of being rescued.
Edilson dos Santos refused to give up the search for his son Jonathan Alves, 18, who went missing on May 11 while on a hunting trip with friends in the dense jungle.
Weeks after authorities gave up all hope of finding the student alive Mr dos Santos, 40, a farmer from the northeastern district of Manaus, continued to search the river banks and paths in the area where his son went missing.
On Saturday shortly after 9 am he found his son lying next to a river, alive but dehydrated, emaciated and with his body ravaged by insect bites. He told the local media how he cradled his son in his arms as his life ebbed away.
"I held him in my arms and got the insects away from his mouth," Mr dos Santos told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper. "When I tried to revive him, he gritted his teeth and died."
Fire and rescue department chief Antonio Dias dos Santos confirmed that the teenager had been missing since May 11 and that the official search had been called off after only 72 hours.
Jonathan was discovered about 27 miles from where he was last seen in an area of largely unexplored rainforest. He had become separated from a group of friends as they searched for waterfalls during a camping trip.
Pictures from the scene showed rescuers using a helicopter to lift his body from a tree, where his father had placed it during the weekend to keep it from being eaten by animals.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
How terribly sad. But at least the boy didn’t die alone and did see his father again before he died. I’m sure his father - who appears to have kept on searching alone - feels this way too. Prayers for them both.
Very sad. As heartbreaking as it is, I’m glad he found his son.
Man, that’s tragic.
I am surprised at how long he did last before he finally died. 50 days is an awful long time to be lost in the Amazon jungle.
Sounds like that Powers Boothe movie. Horrible.
Sad. RIP.
Oh, how horrifically sad!
Prayers for the family.
“
Edilson dos Santos refused to give up the search for his son...
“
Reminiscent of that episode of “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” on the Discovery
Channel titled “Escape From The Amazon”.
That was one harrowing hour of television. And the mental torment of
the fellow that kept up the search for his companion even when the
local folks told him to go home forget about his lost friend.
“Escape From The Amazon”
Escape from the Amazon – Three friends go to the Amazon for a trip
but things get nasty when their guide leads them to jeopardy.
As the four (three friends and guide) split into two groups,
one pair faces disaster at every turn, while the other two are never
heard from again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shouldn’t_Be_Alive
What an AWESOME father!!!!!
That is very sad.
That boy had one heck of a dad. Even though he wasn’t able to keep him, I am glad he found his boy if only to hold him one last time.
I think the father finding by himself his son in the jungle 27 miles frome where last seen borders the impossible.
Sounds to me like the kid hung on, in hopes of seeing someone again. How wonderful that they had that last moment.
God Bless that man to not give up on finding his son. He showed tremendous love, and his son saw and felt that before he died. What a blessing for that young man.
wow
Yes, that too. Too bad it didn’t end up being an amazing story of survival and improbable rescue. I feel bad for the father.
Wow.
Does that last part of the sentence sound weird to anyone else?
Next to a river (presumably fresh water, no?) alive but dehydrated......
Wouldn't he just drink the river water? I suppose the river water could have harbored some nasty bug that causes extreme diarrhea, which woiuld indeed cause dehydration, but it does sound odd....
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