84-year-old survived for days by sucking on tissue

An 84-year-old Vancouver Island man survived for four days trapped inside a well shaft by soaking up moisture with a tissue and sucking on it.

Benson Lake resident Bob Bennett fell into the well Saturday afternoon while he was looking for a water source on his property.

Port Alice RCMP found the senior, who lives alone with his dog on a sprawling former mine site, at the bottom of an eight-foot [2.4 metre] well shaft, "through a two foot wide opening," on Wednesday.

"He stepped on the wooden cover and it basically disintegrated under him and he fell in and couldn't get out," longtime friend and business partner Barry Christenson said.

Although Christenson, who lives in nearby Port Hardy, often doesn't see his friend for extended periods, Bennett had told him that he would be in town in the next few days.

"So this just didn't sit right with me that he hadn't shown up," he said.

Christenson alerted police late Tuesday night when he had not heard from his friend for several days.

"Mr. Christenson had gone to Bob's home, and found Bob's dog home alone, and other items left behind, which indicated Bob had not planned to be away for any length of time," Cpl. Darren Lagan said.

Members of the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP), along with the RCMP, began a daytime search of the mountainous property at first light Wednesday.

A police dog, Nick, alerted his handler to a dry well shaft on the property, where officers found a relieved Bennett -- with his sense of humour still intact.

"When we were getting ready to take him out of there, he's going, 'No, no, no,"' Christenson said.

"He said `I just put some soup on and make myself a sandwich, I'll be fine."'

Cpl. Michelle LeBrun, an officer who aided in the rescue, is nothing short of astonished about the incident.

"Mr. Bennett, at 84-years-old, has shown us that age means nothing when you have the will to survive," LeBrun said in a statement.

"He has left us with one of those stories that only come around once or twice in your career."

The senior was not visibly injured, but was taken to nearby Port Hardy Hospital for a full assessment.

Christenson said his friend was dehydrated after his experience, and had lost quite a bit of weight.

"He was in good spirits, figuring everybody's making too big a fuss over him," he said.

Port Alice is a tiny community with 821 residents, located approximately 500 kilometres north of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

With files from The Canadian Press