Motorcyclist discovered 40 hours after crash

A motorcyclist was left hidden in undergrowth for 40 hours before being found by his family after surviving a crash on his motorcycle.

Fredrick Hinds, 46, from Suisun City, California crashed his Harley-Davidson motorcycle off Highway 12 on Monday night, and managed to survive until Wednesday in scorching temperatures.

Two previous searches by the California Highway Patrol failed to find either Hinds or his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Prompted by the failures of the CHP, Hinds’ family rented a helicopter and started looking for him themselves.

Hinds’ daughter-in-law, Heather Mast spotted a reflection shining from his Harley-Davidson motorcycle 200 feet below the helicopter: “We landed the helicopter and started screaming Fred, Fred, Fred! Then finally we heard him say ‘I’m over by the bridge’!”.

Hinds suffered two broken legs and some minor injuries in the fall. To keep out of the burning Californian sun Hinds had pulled himself through the undergrowth and under a nearby bridge, where he drank polluted water in a desperate bid to stay alive.