An 89-year-old Italian woman who got lost in the woods was rescued after four days of surviving on rainwater, covering herself with vegetation, and befriending a fox.
Giuseppina Bardelli disappeared on the afternoon of August 21 while looking for mushrooms with her son in the Forcora woods of Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca near Switzerland.
She had taken a familiar path but got disoriented after losing sight of her son, Sergio.
The grandmother then slipped and fell about 6 meters (20 feet), breaking a couple of her ribs and slightly perforating a lung.
89-year-old Giuseppina Bardelli survived four days in the woods by drinking rainwater, keeping herself warm with vegetation, and befriending a fox
Image credits: Dmitry Demidov
Sergio screamed her name multiple times, but it was all in vain. The search teams were called at around 8:00 p.m., about an hour before it got dark. She was found four days later on the morning of August 25.
“She was fine. She was lucid and oriented. A little dehydrated but all in all in good condition,” said one of the men of the Alpine Rescue who coordinated the search, as per Il Giorno.
The same day Giuseppina got lost, there was a storm in the Forcora woods.
“She drank rainwater that she found in puddles,” Roberto, her other son, told Corriere della Sera.
“At night, she slept under trees, using vegetation to cover herself. And every evening, she recited the rosary. She knew that every day could be her last.”
The grandmother disappeared on the afternoon of August 21 while looking for mushrooms with her son in the Forcora woods, located in Varese, northern Italy
To feel less lonely, the grandmother befriended a wild fox who approached her out of curiosity.
“The fox approached her several times. They sort of became friends. My mother spoke to it, ‘Don’t do anything to me, I’m good, be calm.'”
Foxes are generally not aggressive or dangerous to humans, according to Freedom Wildlife Solutions. While they are carnivorous and can be territorial, they are typically shy and elusive creatures. If they feel threatened, they will run away rather than confront the perceived threat.
The Humane Society explains foxes don’t often attack people except when they are rabid, which is rare, or when they are captured and handled.
The 89-year-old also drew on her past experience hiking and climbing as a member of the Italian Alpine Club to survive.
“She spent many years of her life, especially when she was young, in the mountains. She has a certain physical structure,” Roberto explained.
Rescuers found on the morning of August 25 and took her to a hospital for observation, where she reunited with her children
On August 25, Giuseppina looked up to see a group of people passing by 100 meters (328 feet) above her. She shouted “help” with all the strength she had left, and she managed to make herself heard.
A Como helicopter rescue team was then sent to the place and picked her up to take her to the hospital for observation, where she reunited with her children.
“When I saw the Carabinieri [national gendarmerie] come towards me, I knew that something had happened. When they said that she was alive, the joy was immense,” Roberto described. “She’s OK now.”
“It was a great synergic operation: many volunteers, the Alpine rescue, the firefighters, the Red Cross, the mayor of Maccagno, the Carabinieri. On the first day, we were about twenty; yesterday, we had 50 people. What a joy, really,” one of the rescuers said after Giuseppina was found.
“In all our years of activity, we had never seen a story like this. A woman so old…a unique case.
“She wanted to live, to return to her children, and she made it.”
Last June, hiker Lukas McClish was rescued after surviving ten days in the Santa Cruz mountains of California.
The 34-year-old set off with only a few belongings—his hiking shoes, a hat, a flashlight, and a pair of scissors—for what he thought would be an eight-hour hike. However, he became lost after realizing that the landmarks he relied on had been destroyed by wildfires.
McClish was able to stay alive by using his shoe to collect water from streams and waterfalls. He drank a gallon of water every day and ate wild berries. At night, he slept on a bed of wet leaves.
Though he may not have befriended any wild animals, he can say that he survived an encounter with a big cat. “I had a mountain lion that was following me, but it was cool. He kept his distance. I think it was somebody watching over me,” he shared.
The hiker was found after a group of people heard his cries for help and informed authorities, who used a drone and a police dog to determine his exact location.
“Good company is everything, even in the wild,” a social media user commented
