Colorado Hiker Speaks Out About Utah Desert Ordeal

A Colorado Springs man who survived weeks in the Utah wilderness is describing his ordeal as a spiritual experience.

William LaFever, 28, survived weeks in the Utah wilderness on snakes, frogs and roots. He described his ordeal as spiritual and said the desert was calling him.

“I’ve eaten things that would probably gross you out,” William LaFever told KSL-TV after his release Thursday from a St. George hospital, nearly 40 pounds lighter than his normal weight of 165. He boarded a bus for his hometown of Colorado Springs.

Authorities say LaFever is lucky to be alive after setting out for an estimated 150-mile journey from Boulder, Utah, to Page, Ariz., without a backpack full of gear he says was stolen, and with few provisions.

Garfield County deputies said LaFever was probably only 24 hours from dying when a search helicopter found him July 12, cooling off in the Escalante River in his underwear. LaFever said he spent nights shivering from cold.

“It was the most honest meditation I have ever done,” LaFever told KSL. “It wasn’t even a bad experience.”

Authorities estimated LaFever spent three weeks bushwhacking along the wild Escalante River, but the man says his ordeal lasted weeks longer. In a somewhat confusing account, he recalled setting out June 3.

Asked why he ventured out alone and unprepared into the harsh desert, LaFever, who is autistic, said he was on a “mission” and “just had to do it. I can’t explain it. I knew what I was doing.

“My mind didn’t suffer. My body and my spirit didn’t suffer,” LaFever said. “I have never felt such weakness, but weakness was only for the body.”

Family members said they were looking forward to reuniting with LaFever on Friday, but that he didn’t want visitors at the hospital or a ride home. His parents have described him as strong-willed and independent. Authorities say people with autism don’t recognize danger.

“He didn’t realize how arduous his journey would be,” his father, John LaFever of Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press a week ago. “We didn’t know what he was heading into, either. Thank God he’s alive.”

He said his son called in early June saying his supplies had been stolen and he had run out of money. The father promised to wire money to Page, Ariz., thinking his son would hitch a ride there.

Instead, William LaFever set out on foot along the Escalante River, believing he could flag down a boat and cross Lake Powell for Page.

Officials say LaFever’s plan was all but impossible given his limited supplies. It’s still not certain where or when he set out for a journey into some of the most remote and unforgiving land in the Lower 48.

LaFever was about 50 miles into his journey when he was rescued and was so weak he couldn’t stand or walk, said sheriff’s deputy Deputy Ray Gardner, who was aboard the helicopter and had recently completed training in search and rescue operations for people with autism.

At some point, LaFever’s dog left him and hasn’t been seen since, Gardner said Thursday.

LaFever kept cool during the day by sitting in the river, but at night it was a different story.

“I had just a thin sheet to curl up with, and I would be in a ball,” he said.