Cyclist Falls 50-Feet Down a Cliff Becoming Trapped for 6 Hours

A 57-year-old cyclist was seriously injured when he plunged 50 feet down a ravine, becoming trapped for several hours.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Keith Leyva, 57, of Paradise Hills, San Diego, fell off a trail in Otay Lakes County Park while out cycling, according to NBC San Diego and abc10News.

The experienced cyclist slipped off the 50-foot cliff and sustained a collapsed lung, numerous broken bones, and a liver laceration, rendering him unable to move when he hit the bottom, NBC San Diego reported.

Leyva was crying out for help for many hours before agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the area heard his pleas and carried out a rescue operation.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed in a press release that they had rescued an injured cyclist.

“On Sept. 20, Border Patrol agents working in the vicinity of Otay Lakes County Park heard cries for help originating from a canyon adjacent to the Sweetwater Dam,” they wrote. “Agents hiked into the canyon and encountered an adult male suffering from multiple serious injuries.”

They added, “Additional agents, including a Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technician, arrived on scene to render assistance and stabilize the injured subject.”

PEOPLE has contacted the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Otay Lakes County Park for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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“The cyclist told agents he lost his footing while walking his bike along a trail on the canyon wall, falling more than 50 feet into the bottom of the canyon,” officials continued. “Unable to move for hours, he called for help until he was finally found by the Border Patrol agents.”

Leyva’s wife, Jennifer Wolschlag, told NBC San Diego she always feared her husband would have an accident, even though he is an experienced cyclist. She told the outlet she “panicked,” on realizing he was missing.

Wolschlag also noted to NBC San Diego that her husband’s rescue was made even harder because he did not cycle his planned route.

On being located over six hours after his fall, Leyva was airlifted to a nearby hospital, per the Customs and Border Protection. His wife said that she “gasped” on discovering he was alive and safe.

“There is no doubt in my mind that these agents saved this man’s life,”  San Diego Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Stalnaker said in a statement. “I am truly thankful the agents were in the right place at the right time to make a difference.”

Leyva himself recalled to the outlet that he thought he was going to be trapped in the ravine overnight and would have to pull himself out. [But] I couldn’t even move,” he said from the hospital where he remains in the ICU.

Doctors have said he’ll take at least six months to recover.