Man lost in California wilderness for two weeks survived on half a jar of salsa ... trends now
A California couple has saved a man who was lost in the mountains for two weeks - surviving on just half a jar of salsa.
Allison Scott and her boyfriend Freddie Valdiva spotted the survivor - named only as Eric - after he flagged them down with a water bottle on a stick.
The pair also heard him wailing as they trekked through the San Bernardino Mountains on Black Friday.
They said Eric told them he had gotten lost after taking a cab into the hills before hiking solo near Big Bear Lake.
His dramatic rescue was captured by the pair as a search and rescue helicopter was deployed to winch the three to safety.
Freddie Valdiva, left, pictured with Eric, center, and Allison Scott, right, prior to the rescue
The couple had set up camp under a flight path when a plane 'went by pretty low and we heard someone for help,' Scott said in her interview with ABC Los Angeles.
But they then heard screaming and spotted Eric's makeshift flag to holler them down as they walked by.
In a separate interview with NBC Los Angeles, Scott said that it took the pair 30 minutes to get to Eric due to the terrain. He was waiting along a creek bed.'
Scott, a cosmetic tattoo artist in Redlands, said: 'We end up finding him, and my boyfriend is looking over the ridge and calling out: 'Hey I see you.''
Eric said that he was from Oceanside, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and around 130 miles west of Big Bear, according to ABC Los Angeles.
He also said that his only food was half a jar of salsa. Eric had been drinking water from a nearby creek. Experts say that the human body can go around four weeks without food.
Eric being hauled to safety, Allison Scott said that it only took around 15 minutes for a rescue helicopter
