Students Lost In Mt Kenya Forest Rescued After 4 Days With No Food

Three students were rescued from the forest in Mathira where they went missing for four days without food or contact.

Reports indicate that the trio was in the company of their two dogs before going missing on May 4, 2021.

Police launched a search and rescue operation to find the teenagers who had gone hiking in Mt Kenya forest and got lost.

Anthony Muhoro (17), Jackson Karuri (17), and David Mukoma Kinyua (20) survived four days without food and had to eat wild fruits while trying to make their way back home.

“We literally groped in the dark after losing our way back home. We survived on water and wild fruits since we had not carried any food," Muhoro said. 

“We entered the forest through Ragati gate. Hours later, we found ourselves deep into the dense woods. I don’t know how far it was from the edges of the forest but we were exhausted. We could not even tell the time since it was constantly dark. That is when panic set in,” he added.

The rescue operation intensified on Saturday, May 8 when police deployed a helicopter in a multi-agency operation that included the Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service rangers.

Muhoro is a Form Three student at Gitunduti Secondary School, Karuri is also a Form Three but at Ihwagi Secondary School while Kinyua is a student at Nyeri National Polytechnic.

While trying to make their way out the students met police officers who were searching for them.