Hunter Lost for 5 Days Eats Worms to Survive

A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive five days in the wild before he was found.

Bill Lawrence said he gathered rainwater in his hunting vest and tried to stay calm throughout his ordeal. Authorities say they conducted the longest search in decades in the 13,000-acre Meeman Shelby Forest State Park before the man was discovered Sunday.

Lawrence lost sight of his two hunting buddies on Aug. 31 while chasing a squirrel and became alarmed when his shots were the only ones he could hear, The Commercial Appeal reported (http://bit.ly/pakvdz).

"This is when I got turned around," said Lawrence, a corrections officer, adding he tried in vain to find his friends or their truck.

At the time he became separated from the others, Lawrence was clad in camouflage pants and jacket, a hat and snake boots.

His friends reporting him as missing. Searchers used trained dogs, horses, all-terrain vehicles, boats, police vehicles and helicopters as they scoured the thick woods.

Meanwhile, Lawrence kept walking, searching for food and water.

"I was drinking muddy water ... eating worms. Yeah, I'd seen that on TV. I ate worms."

Lawrence said he had a shotgun, 15 shells, 2 bottles of water, a flashlight, a can of bug spray, a squirrel call and a can of dipping tobacco. But he did not have a cell phone to summon help.

He shot his gun whenever he thought he heard someone, but his shotgun shells ran out on Saturday.

"Everything was against him from the very beginning," Park Manager Steve Smith said, noting the helicopter spotters had difficulty peering into the dense forest canopy and searchers were hampered by extreme heat.

Lawrence eventually reached a road on Sunday, collapsed and was found by some passers-by.

Authorities said Lawrence suffered from dehydration and severe insect bites. He was taking antibiotics because of the things he ate in the forest.