A similar story happened to my relatives in Oregon, without the happy ending. My cousin called to say he was on his way home and never made it. Since he was in his forties and not a cute kid the cops took one ride along his route and called it off. Relatives found him a week later after walking along the road.
Oh, that’s awful. I hope he didn’t suffer. For those of us who live in cities or suburbia, the fact that there is barren, desolate land in America, and so much of it, is hard to wrap our minds around.