GRAND CANYON, Ariz. (CNN) — An Arizona hiker rescued from the Grand Canyon last week is speaking out to set the record straight.
Authorities involved in saving his life say Bill Formanek was abandoned by friends who were hiking with him, but Formanek is telling a different tale.
Formanek is an experienced hiker whose adventures have taken him all over the world. However, a recent trip to the grand canyon last week stands out for all the wrong reasons.
On Friday night, the 63-year old Apache Junction man was airlifted out of the Grand Canyon after separating his shoulder during a hike with his friends.
Formanek says he hurt himself walking along a trail with one of his buddies around 2 in the afternoon while their three other friends were a few miles ahead. The retired engineer told his buddy to leave him there and go find their friends who had the satellite tracing devices and could call for help.
"My thought was the only chance of rescue was going to be when it was light out," Formanek shared. "So, I was hoping he could get message out and I could get rescued before dark."
Which is exactly what happened.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety chopper spotted the injured hiker about 8:30 Friday night and flew him to safety. On Saturday, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office posted about the incident, saying the four other hikers "continued on their adventure"... "leaving the injured hiker behind."
Formanek is setting the record straight and says that wasn't true at all.
"It was very disheartening because they, in my view, they had done everything possible and the right thing to get me rescued as quickly as possible," he revealed. "...and I was baffled, 'how did they come up with that story?"'
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office is standing by its account of what happened. The injured hiker is thankful for what deputies did to help rescue him, but thinks there was some miscommunication during his interview.
"Some people will say you never leave a hiker alone," Formanek said. "There's always exceptions to the rule."
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