KNOXVILLE (WVLT) -- A Monroe County family calls it a Christmas miracle after rescue workers found their missing elderly father freezing, but alive in the mountains of North Carolina on Christmas day.
Search crews located Sam Watson, 77, about eight miles from the Tennessee border after he had been missing for nearly three days.
The Watson family Christmas list had shrunk on Tuesday night when they reported the elderly man missing after not coming home. From then on, family members said all they wanted was for Watson found alive.
"It was a wonderful Christmas present," said Beecher Watson's, Sam’s son who was with rescue crews when they found him Christmas evening. “I said, ‘dad I love you,” and he turned around, looked at me and said he loved me back," Beecher said.
Family members said Watson went missing while on his way home from visiting a nearby relative in Madisonville. According to his wife, he likely missed a turn and got lost. Based on what he went through after getting lost, rescue crews said he was one tough guy.
"The weather was 20 degrees in the mountains with very windy, rainy and foggy conditions,” said Monroe County Rescue Squad Captain Megan Shaw. “It was extremely rough.”
Monroe County rescue workers found Watson's car parked in a ditch along the Cherohala Skyway on Christmas Eve. They brought in search dogs who found him in the woods the next day, about 40 miles from his Madisonville home.
"He told one our people that he knew he needed help, and that he was heading off the mountain," Shaw said.
In spite of being cold and wet, he was also in pretty good spirits according to the rescue crew.
"Evidently he had a package of peppermint candy and he'd been eating on that the whole time," Shaw said.
Watson was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment. According to his family he suffered hypothermia and frost bite while up in the mountains.
"His feet are totally black from the frost bite,” said Theresa Watson, his daughter-in-law. “His hands aren't as bad though he has spots on his wrists that are pretty dark."
But the Watson family is just thankful they got the biggest gift on their Christmas list.
"He was our Christmas this year,” Theresa said, “he really was."
Sam Watson's was still in serious condition Friday night, though he had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit earlier in the day.
His family said they’re not sure how long he'll be at UT Medical Center or if doctors will have to amputate any of his fingers or toes that suffered frostbite.
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