Last week, Indonesian media reported the dramatic rescue of an emaciated 49-year-old man found in the forests of Mount Salak, in the country’s Sukabumi regency. He was found by a group of locals who were inspecting the flow of a nearby river after heavy rains, sitting on a mossy rock, looking disoriented.
According to the rescuers, the man had trouble speaking and was in poor physical shape. He was all skin and bones, could hardly walk on his own, and was visibly startled by the sight of other people. After being carried out of the jungle on a stretcher, the man was taken to a sub-district office for identification using fingerprints and retina scans.
The rescued man was identified as 49-year-old Ayi Solehudin, a resident of Cianjur Regency who had been reported missing by his family nearly three years earlier. His identity was later confirmed by members of his family, who explained that he suffered from mental health issues and had simply disappeared from home one day after venturing into the forests of Mount Salak.
Ayi was reported missing after his family’s repeated searches through the forest around their village, and it is believed that he survived on his own until his rescue. His presence had been reported a number of times in different regencies, but before his family could get there, he disappeared into the jungle.
It’s unclear how long Ayi Solehudin had been on Mount Salak, but judging by his poor physical condition – he was extremely thin, weak, and severely dehydrated – he had probably spent a long time alone, with little sustenance.
Ayi’s siblings told reporters that he began exhibiting mental problems after their parents passed away, and that he had a habit of wandering into the jungle alone. The last time, he did not return.
