‘Miracle.’ Man missing 5 days found alive in wrecked car in Texas woods, officials say

The story of a Texas man who went missing after leaving a Houston bar came to a happy conclusion on Sunday.

Jose Velazquez, 32, left a Houston bar after having drinks with his fiancee on Tuesday night, KTRK reported. When he didn’t show up for work the next day, his family reported him missing.

“It was super hard not knowing where he was at,” the victim’s cousin, Tony Velazquez, said, according to KPRC.

For five days, Velazquez’s family and friends had no idea of his whereabouts, but on Sunday afternoon, officials found Velazquez’s car 100 yards into the woods off the highway, the TV station reported.

Volunteers were about to end their search when someone caught a glimpse of the car’s white bumper. The car had flipped upside down, KTRK reported.

Investigators say Velazquez was thrown from the car, suffering a punctured lung and broken ribs, but was still able to climb back to the car, KHOU reported.

“’Thanks for finding me,’ and he said to one of our searchers, ‘sorry that I smell,’” search coordinator Thomas Murphy said, according to the TV station. “He had his humor after all that.”

“To still be alive ... that’s why we do what we do,” Equusearch founder Tim Miller said, according to KTRK. “We believe in miracles and here was one today.”

Velazquez was treated for his injuries at an area hospital, and the crash is under investigation, KPRC reported.