KHON KAEN: A British man was rescued on Friday, three days after he drove his motorcycle into a forest and couldn’t find his way back.
Local residents found Barry Weller on a mountain in Khao Suan Kwang district and alerted authorities and rescuers, who took him down to meet his wife, Tawee Chaisaenrit, who was waiting for the reunion at the Dong Yen monastery.
“Thank you,” Mr Weller said after meeting his relieved wife. He had scratches on his body and no shoes when he was spotted.
“Thank you everyone for your help,” said a tearful Ms Tawee, 49, who has been living with Mr Weller at a house in Ubon Rattana district for three years.
Ms Tawee said her husband enjoyed nature adventures and always returned home before dark after an outing.
On Tuesday, he set out on his motorcycle, telling his wife he wanted to enjoy some time in the local rice fields and forests, but this time he did not come back.
Ms Tawee reported her husband’s absence to the Ubon Rattana police station later on Tuesday. Police and rescuers from Ubon Rattana and Khao Suan Kwang districts started looking for him found only his motorbike parked in a paddy field near Ban Nong Saeng in Ubon Rattana that night.
Mr Weller told his wife when they were reunited that he had parked the motorbike and taken a walk up the mountain but could not remember the way back to his parking spot.
Somkuan Wiengkaew, a rescuer who took part in the search, said Mr Weller survived on rainwater and fruits picked in the forest.
Mr Weller was taken to Khao Suan Kwang Hospital for an examination and would be allowed to go home if doctors permit, said Pariwat Chailert, the deputy district chief of Ubon Rattana.
A relieved Tawee Chaisaenrit hugs her husband after the successful operation by rescuers and police. (Photo by Chakkrapan Natanri)