Miraculous rescue: a woman and her three children wandered through the jungle for more than a month

A Colombian family decided to spend the weekend in nature, but in the end they got lost in the jungle and were found 34 days later in a neighboring country. Knowledge of the local fauna helped them to survive.

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On December 20, Maria Oliva Perez got lost in the jungle with her children — 14-year-old Alexandra, 12-year-old Geraldine and 10-year-old Jean-Carlos.

Husband and wife, daughters and son decided to relax in nature. The father of the family went into the thicket, and the rest of the family remained waiting for him at the edge. Suddenly a thunderstorm started and a woman with children decided to go into the jungle to find a spouse and wait out the downpour. However, she could not return the same way back. Then 40-year-old Maria decided to go along the Putumayo River.

40-year-old Maria Oliva Perez before the incident

After wandering through the jungle for more than a month, the family crossed the border with Ecuador, and then ended up in Peru. They survived thanks to wild fruits, berries, plant seeds, raw fish and water. The exhausted woman and her children were found by an Indian fisherman on the morning of January 24. They were taken to the village of La Esperanza in Peru, handed over to the Peruvian military, and from there they were transported to a Colombian hospital. All were diagnosed with malnutrition, muscle atrophy, dehydration, leg injuries and fungal infections.

As Oliva Perez said, when they lost their way on the first day, she decided to camp under a tree and spend the night in the forest — the morning of the evening is more complicated.

Then the children began to catch fish in the streams, pulling it out with their hands. They also collected wild fruits and seeds, although it was quite dangerous.

Oliva Perez recalls that her children were determined to build a raft of palm leaves and go on it along the Putumayo River. But they had neither the strength nor the skills.

Luck turned to the poor fellows in the early morning of January 24, when they saw a Peruvian fisherman, an Indian from the Sequoia tribe, sailing in a canoe. He took them to the village of La Esperanza, and help was already called from there.

Medics transport one of the exhausted girls

A boat was sent for the family along the river, which took them to the city of Puerto Leguizamo in southern Colombia. There, emaciated children and their mothers were given medical care, and they were also tested for infectious diseases spread by insects.

Maria's meeting with her husband in Colombia

The family was taken to their homeland by the river. In Colombia, they were met by the woman's father. The younger boy was sent to the city of Pasto because he needed more serious help. Fortunately, the family did not encounter any poisonous snakes or spiders during the trip. These creatures pose the greatest danger in those places.