Hunter crawls through Idaho wilderness for four days with broken leg

A HUNTER stranded in the wild with a broken leg was poised to kill himself after writing farewell letters to family. Somehow he made it out alive.

A hunter who crawled for days after breaking his leg in the wilderness says his love for his fami

A HUNTER stranded in the wilderness with a badly broken leg was about to kill himself but instead found the strength to crawl for four days to safety.

John Sain, 50, said love for his wife and two kids kept him going through the horrific ordeal in rural Idaho.

“The main reason I fought to get out was for my family and by the grace of God,” Mr Sain told local paper, The Press-Enterprise. “That was the fuel that got me out of there.”

Mr Sain, a lifelong hunter from Montana, had gone bow hunting alone in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho.

Saved ... Mr Sain being stretchered to a waiting helicopter. Picture: Facebook/Jennifer Sain

After tracking an elk deep into the woods his foot slipped between two logs, snapping both bones of his right leg and leaving his foot pointing “up to my ribcage”.

In agony, miles from help and with no phone reception, Mr Sain said he “contemplated on just ending it right there honestly”.

So sure was he that he was going to die he wrote goodbye letters to his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Brooke and Cole.

Then he made a decision. After fashioning a splint for his leg using ripped up cloth and sticks he began to crawl his way out of the wilderness.

Family man ... Mr Sain recovering in hospital surrounded by his family. Picture: Facebook/Jennifer Sain

Carrying a small amount of food, a water purifier and a small survival kit he dragged himself along the forest floor, making a fire for warmth each night.

After four days and suffering severe dehydration Mr Sain had given up hope. “I was done,” he said.

But that afternoon he was discovered by motorcyclists on a trail and after a clearing was cut in the forest he was airlifted to hospital.

“He’s hanging in there,” said Mrs Sain. “The hardest part is seeing him struggle. He’s trying to get back to normal.”