Minnesota Man Rescued After Being Trapped Under Tree For 4 Days, Survived On Insects & Rainwater
On Monday, Redwood County Sheriff’s Office officials say they rescued Jonathan Ceplecha, a 59-year-old Minnesota man who was trapped under a tree for more than 4 days, and had survived on insects and rainwater.
Ceplecha, a school teacher and Army veteran, went missing on August 27 after a tree he was cutting down on his property fell on him, pinning and instantly breaking both of his legs, and damaging his upper torso, which was “semi-twisted as he sat upright on the ground.”
RELATED: 70+ People Trapped After Coronavirus Quarantine Hotel Collapses
Without a phone to call for help, Ceplecha, who had the will to survive, dieted on insects and plants, plus “sweat and rainwater that he collected in his clothes.” On August 31, Ceplecha’s ex-wife found him after his employer notified the family of him missing the first day of school. Upon arrival of the Redwood Falls Fire Department, who took two hours to remove Ceplecha, he was airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent multiple surgeries and is now on a long journey to recovery.
Ceplecha’s son, Miles, told KARE11, “I was with him Monday in the hospital and he was kind of getting how he was able to keep from panicking, which was by breaking up the days into hours and then breaking up the hours into five-minute segments so that he could have little victories throughout the day that would give him little pieces of hope. He just tried to keep his mind distracted, and he did this hour after hour for 100 hours. I’m still in shock. We’re all still in shock that he’s alive and that he was out there by himself, but we’re better today than we were on Monday and Tuesday.”
RELATED: Family Rescued From Theatre After Being Trapped By Australian Bushfires For 6 Days
A GoFundMe for Ceplecha has been set up with a goal for $25,000.