KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE: A Tennessee motorcyclist, who disappeared on his way to pick up McDonald’s breakfast, survived three days of hell inside a ditch after he went in the wrong direction, just less than a mile from his home.
Taylor Boyle, 27, was reported missing until a team of loyal friends found him hidden beneath trees and bushes on Tuesday, October 17, at the bottom of a 15-foot embankment near Heiskell, a community roughly 12 miles northwest of Knoxville.
When was Taylor Boyle last heard?
According to the Know County Sheriff's Office, he was found missing earlier that day but was last heard from on Sunday morning, October 15.
His friends said Boyle was stopping at McDonald’s ahead of plans to meet at one of their nearby homes. The search group, which consisted of Boyle's close ones, combed the area earlier that day with little luck, but returned to the area out of dedication to their lost friend.
What did Taylor Boyle's friend say?
“When I looked down in there, I didn’t see him at first and as I was panning out, I saw something sparkle — basically just saw the light reflect. And when I did, I looked back and I just saw the Harley wheel,” friend Brandon Lawson told 10 News.
Boyle was apparently lying several feet away in a ditch where he had spent the last 60 hours since crashing the bike into a tree.
The motorcyclist was alert and conversing but suffered a concussion that left him oblivious to the dangerous circumstances.
“He had guardian angels with him as he only thought he had been there for an hour camping with his dad,” Boyle’s sister-in-law wrote on Facebook.
What injuries did Taylor Boyle face?
Boyle was rushed to the hospital with a dislocated elbow, concussion and small brain bleed, with doctors saying he has a “long road to recovery.”
According to Boyle’s friends, a McDonald’s biscuit Boyle had picked up for one of his friends was still wrapped inside his backpack when he was rescued.
“All I was worried about doing was just finding him. Anything and everything that we had to do, as long as it took. We just had to find him, I knew he was out there,” said Ryan French.
“It’s pretty crazy, honestly, as far as he was down here. And, as much as you can see from up here, it’s a miracle that we found him. I just praise God every day,” French added.
