COUGAR, Wash. (AP) — An Ohio man who was missing on Mount St. Helens was found Wednesday on a flank of the peak nearly a week after he set out on a day hike and survived by eating berries and bees, authorities and the man's relatives said. Matthew Matheny, 40, who was visiting the area from Warren, Ohio, was found alive Wednesday on the side of the mountain leading up to the legendary volcano, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Authorities had launched a search and rescue operation that ended successfully when Matheny was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital Wednesday. His parents told reporters outside the Vancouver, Washington, hospital that he was being treated for dehydration and would stay overnight, adding that he ate berries and killed bees that he also ate. After visiting him in the hospital, Matheny's parents told ABC Portland affiliate KATU that their son was in good physical condition and had survived by eating huckleberries as well as bees he had killed. Matheny had borrowed a friend's Subaru Outback last Thursday to drive to the mountain and go hiking. Matthew B. Matheny, 40, of Warren, Ohio, was in good condition, talking and did not appear to have suffered life-threatening injuries but was flown to a hospital to spend the night as a precaution, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens 7 Gallery: Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens 
 
 On Saturday, a Skamania County sheriff's deputy found the Subaru unoccupied at the start of the Blue Lake trail, which is in Cowlitz County. Matheny started out his hike with two liters of water and some snacks he had brought with him, but he was all out after Thursday and couldn't find any water sources, his parents told KATU. About 30 search-and-rescue personnel, assisted by helicopters, tracking dogs and a drone operated by the sheriff's office had been searching for Matheny daily, The Daily News of Longview reported. Searchers on Tuesday decided to focus on a 1-square-mile (2.6-square-kilometer) area based on cellphone signals and a computer model that sought to predict Matheny's movements. Charlie Rosenzweig, chief criminal deputy for Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, called it "extremely unusual" that someone would survive such an ordeal, the newspaper reported. Blue Lake Trail is a short walk through meadows and tall fir trees to Blue Lake, according to the Washington Trails Association, Beyond the lake, hikers can access other trails and ridges, leading to views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. Matheny, 40, was not familiar with the terrain, got lost and had not seen anyone since Aug. 9, they said.
– Matthew Matheny went for what was supposed to be a brief hike on Mount St. Helens on Thursday last week—and was airlifted to a Vancouver, Wash., hospital Wednesday when search and rescue teams finally found him. The 40-year-old Warren, Ohio, resident, who was in the state visiting friends, had borrowed a buddy's Subaru Outback to go to the trail, but he became lost in the wilderness and could't find his way back to the vehicle, the Oregonian reports. The search began after Matheny was reported missing and authorities discovered the unoccupied Subaru at the entrance to the Blue Lake Trail on the side of the mountain. He was treated overnight for dehydration, but authorities say he doesn't have life-threatening injuries—and he's lucky to be alive at all. Around 30 searchers took part in the rescue operation, which located Matheny in the general area of the trail, ABC News reports. Authorities zeroed in on a small area Tuesday using cellphone signals and a computer model that tried to predict his movements, the AP reports. His parents, who flew to the state days ago and are ecstatic that he has been found, say he apparently survived by eating berries—and by killing and eating some bees that had been chasing him. "He knew it was a tough situation," mother Linda Matheny tells the Oregonian. "But everyone who has encountered him [has] told us it's remarkable the condition he's in." She adds that she wants to "wring his neck" for his choice of hiking footwear: sandals.