A Wyoming rancher who was pinned by an all-terrain vehicle survived on nothing but beer and bottled water for two days until he was rescued by a search party.
Frank Reynolds, 53, was trying to round up a cow and calf on a neighbor's pasture outside Gillette when the vehicle tipped over on him Sunday, Reynolds told the Gillette News Record.
'It was scary as hell is what it was,' a badly bruised Reynolds said Wednesday from a hospital room.
Wyoming rancher Frank Reynolds is pictured being rescued on Tuesday from a dry creek bed, where he had been trapped beneath an overturned ATV for nearly two days
Reynolds, 53, is pictured covered in bruises in the hospital following his rescue. He was rounding a cow and calf when his vehicle tipped over on him Sunday
Family thought Reynolds had gone camping or was with friends, said Quentin Reynolds, the Campbell County undersheriff and Frank's brother.
Later Monday, they began to worry. Eventually, they learned Frank had planned to do some work on the property where, unbeknownst to them, he was laying with a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs.
A search began at around 2pm, and the rancher's family filed a missing person report with the sheriff's office three hours later, reported Cowboy State Daily.
Meanwhile, Reynolds, trapped in a dry creek bed, honked the ATV's horn so much he wore down the battery - to no avail.
He was able to ration a couple of bottles of water and Keystone Light beers from a cooler he had brought with him, Sheriff Scott Matheny said.
Reynolds survived on a few bottles of water and beer for two days until help arrived
Reynolds' cooler, which was within his reach, contained Keystone Light beer (stock image)
Searching on horseback in the rough terrain, neighbor Don Hamm finally came upon the missing rancher just before 8am on Tuesday, more than 40 hours after he had left home. By that point, Frank recalled he was 'pretty much out of it' as a result of pain and dehydration.
'Everything on the left side pretty much hurt, from the top of my head to my toes,' he said.
A photo taken in the hospital showed the brew-loving rancher with black and purple bruisers on his left shoulder and under his left eye, and a large bump on his head.
'He’s really lucky that the drinks landed within reach of his right arm,' his brother said.
He was expected to remain in the hospital a few more days and eventually recover.