TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A senior hospital official was found alive in the mountains of Pingtung County Tuesday morning (June 16), 10 days after disappearing during a group hike.

Yang Hsin-cheng (楊欣正), the deputy president of Ping An Psychiatric Hospital in the township of Changzhi, was part of a group of 15 who went hiking on Pengji Mountain (來義棚集山) in the same region on June 6, CNA reported.

As the group stopped for a break, Yang forged ahead, hoping to have the other hikers catch up with him later. However, after they descended the mountain, they could not find him and decided to alert the local police.

Search operations found it difficult to make any progress due to heavy rains and the threat of landslides, according to the CNA report.

After a local politician promised a reward of NT$2 million (US$67,500) for anyone locating Yang, a private rescue team found the hospital official near a waterfall Tuesday morning. Even though he suffered head injuries, he was conscious, reportedly telling the team that he lost his way in the mountains.