A hiker on the Superior Hiking Trail near the zoo in Duluth made a very fortunate discovery Monday afternoon - a man stuck at the bottom of a deep ravine.
Duluth Police have since identified the man as 36-year-old William Berger.
"If I was just walking on this trail, if I wasn't paying attention, there's no way the sleeping bag that was covered up somewhat with snow would catch my attention at all," said Duluth Police Officer Jeremy O'Connor.
The hiker figured it might be the same homeless man he saw living in a nearby tent four days earlier. That tent is now destroyed.
The hiker called Officer O'Connor, whom he personally knows.
"Once I got here, I basically looked for the safest area to get down as quick as I could without falling down the hill," O'Connor said.
There were no footprints surrounding the sleeping bag, meaning Berger had been in the ravine at least two days since the last snow. O'Connor believes he may have gone into the ravine intentionally for cover from the wind after his tent was destroyed.
The good samaritan made it clear to Officer O'Connor he seriously needed help.
"One of the first words I got out of him were, 'I need to go to the hospital' and 'I can't move at all.' So I knew this was beyond just walking with him out of the woods," O'Connor said. "You could tell he was just kind of relieved with hearing my voice and telling him help is on the way."
Duluth Firefighters responded with a UTV, and they pulled him out as an evening of below-zero temps took hold.
Officers agree, if Berger had spent the night out there, he would not have survived.
"We're here to help people and it makes me and everyone else that was involved in this feel good," O'Connor said.
The city of Duluth's homeless outreach center has been in contact with Berger and his family, and they say he's going to be OK.