Man Dressed for Summer Nearly Dies in Snowy Spa Park

A local man went for a drive on Friday night, perhaps to admire the beauty of the pristine white snow in the Saratoga State Park.  What happened after that was something out of the Travel Channel's "Stories of Survival."   While it's a bit of head-scratcher trying to piece together  exactly what happened on Friday night, what is known is that the man's vehicle got stuck in snow, and then things got dangerous.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

According to a story written in the Times Union, the man whose name has not been released and is in his 30's, didn't dial 911 and actually got out of his vehicle attempting to seek help on his own.  That's when he got lost in the Spa Park woods.  To make matters worse, according to the Times Union, he was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts as he ventured out into the dark night.

According to the report, the man did eventually call 911 and rescue squads were dispatched to a location in the park, but because he stopped talking on the 911 call, his exact  whereabouts were a mystery.

Luckily, the 911 call center was able to ping his whereabouts and according to the report, responders found him about 45 minutes later.  “He was located about 500 yards into the woods off Columbia Avenue," the Saratoga Springs Fire Battalion Chief Aaron Dyer told the Times Union.  When he was eventually found, in only a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he was also wearing no shoes, which according to the Times Union he lost while trudging through the snow.

“He didn’t pass out, but he was very hypothermic,” Dyer told the Times Union.  Dyer also stated to the Times Union that the man is currently recovering from hypothermia and injuries related to the harsh conditions and says that "if he was in the woods much longer, it would have been a different outcome.”