Couple survive six days lost in Italian forest by drinking their own urine and eating berries after getting lost while hiking

By SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:02, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 16:02, 8 July 2026 A couple have survived being lost without food in the Dolomites for six days by drinking their own urine and foraging for berries. Davide Cesaroni, 41, and his wife Chiara Pesaresi, 38, had set off on what they planned to be a circular hike at the popular destination in northern Italy on July 1. However, despite trail markers being easy to spot at first, the couple lost their way on the Marini Trail, which goes through a dense section of forest. Deciding to conserve their energy when they arrived at a ravine and having little food to spare, they slept the first night among the trees, hoping they could find their way back in the morning. But it soon became six days in total lost in the forest, which saw the pair construct a shelter made of branches and drinking their own urine 'to avoid dying of thirst'. After two days, they managed to find a stream providing clean water and foraged for berries for sustenance.  In the meantime, the mountain rescue service and firefighters began a manhunt for the missing couple after Mr Cesaroni's raised the alarm over her unanswered messages. The couple's car was also found unattended by a mountain hut near Pordenone. Davide Cesaroni, 41, and his wife Chiara Pesaresi, 38, survived for six days on their own urine and berries after becoming lost in the Dolomites The mountain rescue service and firefighters began a manhunt for the missing couple after Mr Cesaroni's raised the alarm over her unanswered messages On the sixth day of being missing, a rescue team descended from a helicopter to the trail the couple were supposed to be on and found the missing pair On the fourth day of extensive searches, the couple heard a helicopter nearby but were not spotted beneath the branches. The next day, a rescue team descended from the helicopter to search the Marini Trail. The couple told il Resto del Carlino: 'We built a shelter out of two densely foliaged pine trees: sticks were driven around them, protecting the shelter like an igloo against damp, wind, and cold.' On the fifth day, Mr Cesaroni said they heard a helicopter land not far away from their camp in a ravine. When he heard the 'sound of the rotors' again the next day, he 'decided to rush there'. 'When the rescuers saw me, they asked if I was Davide from Ancona. We were safe,' he said.