Family and friends celebrate with David LaVau at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (Los Angeles Times) |
LAKE HUGHES, Calif. (KTLA) -- A 67-year-old man whose car plummeted off the road near Lake Hughes was found alive by his family six days later.
David LaVau disappeared September 23rd after his car plummeted off the road near Lake Hughes.
He was found alive by his family six days later.
Family members thought he may have taken a trip to see his girlfriend.
Days passed, however, and they grew concerned.
The LaVau family says they took the search into their own hands.
"We got credit cards, we got cell phone [records], we broke into his Facebook," son Sean LaVau explained.
"Our 12-year-old, Ashley, broke into the cell phone by a code... so we got to find out all the voicemails."
"There was no credit card trail, no cell phone trail since Friday, so we narrowed it down that he had to have gone off anywhere from the 5 Freeway in Castaic to Lake Hughes, where he lives," family friend Morgan Gonzalez said.
His family found him alive Thursday night the bottom of a mountain. His car had plunged 200 feet off Lake Hughes Road.
"I just ran up to the top... and I looked down and I saw my dad's car, and of course my heart dropped," Sean LaVau said.
"I could not see how to get down," Sean said. "I just could not figure it out... So I just slid from tree to tree, grabbing on trees to trees."
Sean says his father told him he survived by drinking water from a river and eating bugs and leaves.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department airlifted David LaVau to a hospital for treatment.
He suffered a broken collar bone and cuts and bruises, but he is expected to be okay.
In a strange twist, LaVau's car came to rest alongside another vehicle whose driver wasn't as lucky.
That car is registered to an 88-year old man who disappeared 2 weeks ago, according to DMV records.
Police say Melvin Gelfand was last seen September 14th at his residence in the Pacific Area of Los Angeles.
Gelfand was believed to be driving a 2007 four door, gray Toyota Camry, License Number 5UPW238.
That license plate number matches that of a second car found in a ravine.
A body found in the Camry has not been identified.
David LaVau disappeared September 23rd after his car plummeted off the road near Lake Hughes.
He was found alive by his family six days later.
Family members thought he may have taken a trip to see his girlfriend.
Days passed, however, and they grew concerned.
The LaVau family says they took the search into their own hands.
"We got credit cards, we got cell phone [records], we broke into his Facebook," son Sean LaVau explained.
"Our 12-year-old, Ashley, broke into the cell phone by a code... so we got to find out all the voicemails."
"There was no credit card trail, no cell phone trail since Friday, so we narrowed it down that he had to have gone off anywhere from the 5 Freeway in Castaic to Lake Hughes, where he lives," family friend Morgan Gonzalez said.
His family found him alive Thursday night the bottom of a mountain. His car had plunged 200 feet off Lake Hughes Road.
"I just ran up to the top... and I looked down and I saw my dad's car, and of course my heart dropped," Sean LaVau said.
"I could not see how to get down," Sean said. "I just could not figure it out... So I just slid from tree to tree, grabbing on trees to trees."
Sean says his father told him he survived by drinking water from a river and eating bugs and leaves.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department airlifted David LaVau to a hospital for treatment.
He suffered a broken collar bone and cuts and bruises, but he is expected to be okay.
In a strange twist, LaVau's car came to rest alongside another vehicle whose driver wasn't as lucky.
That car is registered to an 88-year old man who disappeared 2 weeks ago, according to DMV records.
Police say Melvin Gelfand was last seen September 14th at his residence in the Pacific Area of Los Angeles.
Gelfand was believed to be driving a 2007 four door, gray Toyota Camry, License Number 5UPW238.
That license plate number matches that of a second car found in a ravine.
A body found in the Camry has not been identified.
