TUCSON, Ariz. — We first told you about 32-year-old Martin Villalobos who went missing in February. His family grew desperate as each day passed without a sign from him.
Villalobos had been riding his motorbike on a dirt road off I-10 and Ina. He crashed into a hole and after waking up from a blackout, knew he had suffered a back injury.
He was stuck in the hole for four days until a homeless man found him.
"Once you get desperate you start doing stuff," Villalobos said. "Like regardless you start doing stuff for survival...And I couldn't move honestly, I had my pants, my phone was in my cargo pants for riding and my phone ended up falling into this pocket. So it took me a whole day to figure out a way to stretch without hurting myself to get my phone out."
By the time he managed to grab his phone, it was dead. He says he knew every day, was a day of survival.
"The other thing is I had four broken ribs. So I had to put pressure on here and then scream for help," Villalobos said. "And then talk to God honestly. I told him save me or if not take me, the last day because it was so bad, no water."
With the nights and early morning dropping down to 40-degree temps, he says his riding gear luckily kept him warm enough.
ONLY ON 9: Martin Villalobos crashed his motor bike and got stuck in a hole for 4 days. His family reported him missing. He’s now back home. I talk to him about his road to recovery and how he survived. That story on @kgun9 at 5pm. #Tucson #Inspirational pic.twitter.com/Q16jysDcEi
— Denelle Confair (@DenelleConfair) March 31, 2022
"So, then I found rocks and I started putting rocks in my mouth and it sort of triggered saliva," Villalobos said. "So, that's what kept my mouth moist."
On the fourth day, he says he heard a man ask him about his bike. He knew it would be his only chance to get help.
"I'm literally going to die if you don't help me and he left me a flashlight and he left it on and said I'll be back," Villalobos said.
That good Samaritan, a homeless man, went to a nearby gas station and got help. The next few days and weeks would be a time of healing and recovery.
"Anything changes quick so just learn how to enjoy life and appreciate the little things God gives you and life gives you in general," Villalobos said.
Villalobos is now back at home, determined to heal and walk again.
"You know how many times I heard doctors saying you're not going to walk no more, like kinda this is going to be your wheel chair life, this and that," Villalobos said. "I'm like you ain't going to tell me. You know why? Just because you go off the book, but technically I shouldn't be alive after four days either right?"
Villalobos went on to say he thought of his 14 -year-old daughter every day he was in that hole, knowing he needed to fight to survive so he could see her again.
