14 DAY TRIAL // The gripping story of two teenage hikers lost in the Trabuco Canyon in California has come to an end and it's a happy one.
As I reported on Friday, 19-year-old Nicolas Cendoya and 18-year-old Kyndall Jack have been found alive, the latter being rescued four days after contacting emergency operators.
Cendoya of Costa Mesa, who was found by a volunteer, recalled his experience in an interview with ABC affiliate KABC.
"We weren't meant to die," he says.
Cendoya suffered blunt forced trauma that most likely brought on amnesia, and was not able to remember details about splitting paths with Kyndall.
He describes falling, being unconscious and suffering hallucinations due to severe dehydration during the rest of his time on the mountain.
He survived on plants until rescuers were able to locate him. Cendoya was hospitalized at a facility in Mission Viejo since Wednesday and has now been released.