Samuel Vengrinovich, 44, was found alive after a week-long multi-agency search and rescue effort was deployed in India’s Dharamsala. 

Vengrinovich, who resides in Jaffa but immigrated to Israel 14 years ago from the United States, was last seen on June 6th, leaving all of his items behind at his group campsite in the Himalayas with the intention to return.

However, he’d been injured while separated from other hikers and could not get to them. He was forced to change course in a harrowing tale of survival. 

Surviving while lost and wounded

As search teams searched for the missing, he searched for his own solutions. Vangrinovich’s sister, Natasha, said that her brother walked for 9 days with a broken arm, without food or water. “He ate insects along the way to survive and was following the river to get to Dharmasala village.” 
Half-a-dozen stray street dogs roaming in a residential area in north India. (credit: LSP EM. Via Shutterstock)
Half-a-dozen stray street dogs roaming in a residential area in north India. (credit: LSP EM. Via Shutterstock)
He has since been transferred to a local hospital for further treatment. “To say it’s a miracle is an understatement,” Natasha added.

The recovery effort was made possible by fundraising initiatives led by family and friends, raising over $65,000 to cover medical expenses, search teams, and travel to reunite with family among others.