A local man was stranded for almost two days and was nearly freezing to death in a wooded area. But a complete stranger walked by just in time to save him.

The rescue happened in a large open space near Fountain and Chelton.

Christopher Matt was out for a walk when he heard something strange.

"He was calling for help. I said what's wrong he says I can't move,” said Matt.

At first Chris didn’t know what to think of the stranger, who he could barely see behind the thick brush.

"I said, ‘Why can't you move?’ he said, ‘I'm frozen’,” said Matt.

Chris made his way across the creek, walking through some rugged terrain. He was stunned to find the man so cold, he couldn’t get up.

"I've never seen that before, they were extremely blue, very frozen; his fingers from the knuckle down,” said Matt.

Without a cell phone, the Good Samaritan knew what he had to do.

Chris put the 200 pound man over his shoulders and carried him a half mile to safety.

"He kept saying I can't do it, I'm not gonna make it. I was like you are buddy, you are gonna be fine,” said Matt.

Now a day later, his good friend Dillon is calling him a hero.

“I wasn’t surprised at all that he would have helped a stranger and saved his life,” said Dillon Bracken. “I think more people need to be like this.”

And Chris wonders what would have happened, if he didn’t go on that walk.

"I had debated whether or not I was even gonna leave, or just stay in front of that computer. I thought about how I could have been there and never known that someone was dying just nearby. That just blows my mind," said Matt.

He adds, " was meant to be there."

The man is recovering from hypothermia, frostbite, and dehydration.

It’s still unclear why that man was in the field.

He could lose some fingers or toes, but he told Chris he's just thankful to be alive.

Chris says he was inspired by the man who kept a positive outlook and was in good spirits.

“He told me, ‘I’m just happy to be alive, I’ll trade a few fingers for my life any day’, said Matt.

The hospital tells 11 News the 36-year-old is in good condition.

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