Man missing from vets' home found in most unlikely place

SPRINGDALE, Md. -- A man reported missing a week ago has been found alive after being trapped under a tree less than a block from his home, reports CBS Washington, D.C. affiliate WUSA-TV.

Larry Shaddy, 66, was reported missing on July 20 from a veteran's home in Springdale, Maryland.

At around 1 a.m. on July 20, Shaddy, who lives in a house with five other Vietnam War veterans, told his roommate he was having trouble sleeping, and went out for a walk.

The next morning, when Shaddy didn't return, his roommate called the owner of the house, worried about Shaddy's safety.

"The first thing we said to him is, 'You should have called us at one o'clock in the morning because that was very unusual for Larry to go for a walk at one o'clock,"' Imelda Clarke. of Imelda's Elderly Care, said.

Clarke called police, and for a week they searched high and low for Shaddy, who has chronic health problems.

"As the days went by, we became less and less hopeful," Clarke said.

But on Monday afternoon, a pedestrian noticed a man trapped beneath a tree and called for help.

"We arrived on location and found the man, late 60's, who apparently had fallen or slid down this embankment and underneath a tree that had already fallen," said Mark Brady, Prince George's County Fire and Rescue spokesman.

Shaddy was wedged in too tightly to free himself. It took firefighters and the jaws of life to pull him out.

"So I'm glad we found him today. I don't know how much longer he would have lasted out here in the elements," Brady said.

It was impossibly bad luck, but when the improbable happy ending came, the good news didn't have to travel far.

"The first two words that came out of my mouth were 'Thank God.' And - 'Is he alive?' Yes. We were very happy. And also stunned," Clarke said.

Clarke credited Shaddy's survival to his military training. He emerged from the woods with only minor injuries and severe dehydration.

Investigators hope to learn more about how Shaddy survived for so long without food or water, but so far he's still been too disoriented to tell them much.