Man with Parkinson’s Stranded in Wilderness for 3 Days Found Alive

A missing man with Parkinson’s disease has been found alive after he was lost in the Arizona wilderness for days.

Mike Johnson vanished on Wednesday, Aug. 27, after he went out for an evening ride on a side-by-side off-road vehicle, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched to support him and his family following his disappearance.

The 74-year-old was reported missing after he did not return home from the Heber-Overgaard area, according to FOX affiliate KSAZ-TV. The report was made after his wife and a friend searched for him until 1 a.m. local time.

Three days after Johnson’s disappearance, hunters located the missing man’s off-road vehicle, according to NBC affiliate KPNX. Rangers found Johnson alive in Walnut Canyon in Navajo County later that same day.

Christy Day, a family friend, said Johnson was in critical condition when he was found unresponsive in a field. “He would not have survived one more night there,” she added.

Johnson was initially airlifted to the Heber Fire Station “for immediate medical treatment,” according to Brittney Hudson, who organized the GoFundMe campaign for Johnson and his family. 

The man was later airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, Hudson added.

“If you are lucky enough to know the Johnsons then you know they are the kind of people who would drop anything to help others,” Hudson wrote in the description of the online fundraiser. “More times than not they are lending a helping hand to others around them and now they are needing our help.“

Day said Johnson has “had Parkinson’s disease for 20 years,” according to KPNX. 

The family friend claimed Johnson was “in a hurry to get home” and got lost after turning back, KSAZ-TV reported.

“When they found him, and he was breathing, our prayers were answered,” Day explained. “He is a miracle. The lord had his hand in this.”

Friends said Johnson survived by taking shelter in his off-road vehicle and making fires at night until he was found on Saturday, Aug. 30, per KPNX.

“He is making progress each and every day but still has a long road of recovery ahead of him,” Hudson wrote in description of the GoFundMe, which has garnered more than $12,000 in donations as of the morning of Monday, Sept. 8.

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The funds raised through the GoFundMe “will help offset the cost of the medical bills- including flight, hospital treatment, and rehab,” according to Hudson. Any leftover funds, she added, “will be donated directly to the search and rescue teams who work effortlessly to find lost loved ones.” 

“We know without them we would not have Mike home,” Hudson wrote.

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.