A 10-year-old boy who survived 28 hours in the Utah wilderness without food and shelter was reunited with his family on Monday. Most remarkably, the boy says he wasn’t scared. Malachai Bradley told reporters the experience was actually pretty fun.
“I hiked like 30 miles.” he told CBS News.
What wasn’t fun for his family was waiting to find out whether he had been rescued. The boy wandered off from a lake where he was fishing with his father to search for mushrooms.
“I was trying to collect mushrooms and I couldn’t find any by the lake,” he said. “It was stupid.”
After his father notified authorities, nearly 100 rescuers set out to locate the boy. But it was the work of a small dog that picked up the scent and led to his discovery. To survive the near freezing conditions, the boy said he huddled up in his jacket and wedged himself between some trees for warmth.
His mother Lori Matthews said she was relieved.
“I’m proud of my boy and proud of the team and proud of the fact that I am not going to have a tragedy,” Matthews told CBS News. “I just have this cool story that my son gets to tell.”
