Hiker, 58, is found alive five days after getting lost in a remote California forest

A 58-year-old hiker has been found alive and well five days after he went missing in a rugged national park. 

George David Null set out Saturday morning for a hike in the Angeles National Forest  – a 700,000 acre area located in the San Gabriel Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles. 

Crews commenced a search for Null when he failed to return home that evening, with his vehicle discovered in one of the forest’s carparks the following day. 

George David Null, 58, has been found alive and well five days after he went missing in a rugged national park

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Volunteers distributed flyers, while local police pleaded with the public for any information as to Null’s whereabouts.   

Search and rescue helicopters also canvassed the remote landscape of the Angeles Forest in a bid for any sign of the hiker. 

However, as the days passed, fears grew for Null’s safety. 

But on Wednesday, aerial crews happened to spot him waving his bright blue plaid shirt in the air as he stood by a creek in a remote part of the park. 

Video shared to social media shows Null being winched to safety in the helicopter. 

The 58-year-old looked overjoyed – and a little dirty – as he posed for a selfie with the rescue pilot after reaching safety. 

Volunteers distributed flyers, while local police pleaded with the public for any information as to Null’s whereabouts

His sister, Rebecca Latta, told one local news station that she was ‘so relieved’. 

‘We didn’t know for days. Not knowing is so hard,’ she stated. 

Null has not spoken publicly about his ordeal, and it is unclear how he managed to survive in the harsh environment. 

‘I think he’s so exhausted that he really doesn’t have a lot of words right now, and he’s maybe a little bit delirious after five days of wandering around in the forest,’ Latta stated.