Missing Family Survives 34 Days in the Jungle by 'Eating Berries'
Authorities confirmed that a Colombian mother, 40 years old, together with her three children aged 14, 12, and 10 have been found by indigenous Peruvians. The family was lost in the Colombian jungle for 34 days. They were reported missing on December 19 of last year.
The family said that they had managed to survive in the jungle by eating berries, seeds, and plants. When the family was asked about what happened and how they got lost in the jungle-which is near the Colombia-Peru border-they said that they were on their way back home from visiting relatives in the remote area near the Colombian-Peru border when they got disoriented and lost.
According to Daily Mail, the unnamed woman arranged to meet her husband to travel back with him across the border from Puerto Leguizamo to Colombia where the family presently lives. However, the family got disoriented and got lost in the jungle. Her husband immediately reported the disappearance of his family to the authorities after his wife and three other children did not arrive at the location of which they agreed to meet.
Moreover, Global News reported that they were halfway through their journey near the Putumayo river before becoming disoriented. She also said that she and her three children spent the next 34 days walking through the jungle when they, fortunately, came across a group of Indigenous Peruvians called Secoyan who live near the village of Yubito.
The Secoyan immediately alerted the Peruvian Navy, which then informed their Colombian counterparts who sent a hovercraft to transport the family 110 miles upriver to Puerto Leguizamo in Colombia.
Footage of the family was broadcast by a Colombian channel showing how the malnourished and dehydrated family were lifted from the hovercraft and reunited with their father who was waiting at the Naval Base in Puerto Leguizamo.
The mother said: "If we didn't have water every 30 minutes, we'd faint and we had to keep stopping all the time and the girls couldn't walk anymore."
Meanwhile, Colombian Navy Gen Sergio Alfredo Serrano said that the family was covered with bites, stings, and cuts on their feet. They were immediately rushed to the hospital to be tested for potential mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.
None of the family members were reported to have severe illnesses or diseases. News outlets are waiting for updates on their blood test results. The family is still lucky because nothing happened to them after they got lost on the island.
At present, members of the family are in the hospital and are all under observation while waiting for the results of their blood tests for potentially suspected malaria or other related diseases. The jungle is known as the home of wild animals. News about the family who were lost in the jungle was immediately published in different news outlets, be it local or international.
Meantime, there is no news yet as to the identification of the Colombian family. However, the father of the family expressed his gratitude to the Indigenous Peruvian tribe who found his lost family.