A father and his two sons were rescued Saturday after becoming lost and stuck for three days in Utah’s Sandthrax Canyon.

Jason Knight, 35, told Today Monday that he and his sons left on Wednesday April 9, and were to return home on that Friday. But when the three didn’t show up, Knight’s wife became frantic and contacted Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Knight says that he wanted to spend the day in Leprechaun Canyon with his 8-year-old and 11-year-old sons, but accidentally ended in the wrong canyon.

What was originally intended to be a three-hour hike, turned into a fight for survival for three full days.

The father says that after entering into the canyon, he realized that they didn’t have the correct ropes to make an exit.

Knight decided to leave the canyon to grab more equipment and instructed his children to stay on an opened ledge above the canyon while he went to find a way out. He instead became stuck 350 feet below in a split between two walls, which was 150 yards away from his sons’ location.

His sons unfortunately could not hear his calls when he yelled for help. 

However, Knight stayed optimistic to the notion that a rescue squad would come searching for them.

“I knew if my boys stayed on top they would find them because they were in an open spot, and I knew if they found them they would eventually find me,” he said.

The sons say they survived off a shared granola bar and bottle of water, which was gone by Wednesday.

By late Saturday afternoon, a helicopter arrived to retrieve the two boys. The crew then found Knight 30 minutes later, but he wasn’t rescued out of the bottom of the canyon until after 4 p.m.

“The helicopter was definitely a good sound,” Knight said.

The trio, which suffered from dehydration and a few bruises, were said to be in overall good condition.

Knight was later quoted: “We were in a very bad situation, and without preparedness and the rescue people we wouldn’t have made it out. Anything could have happened.”

Images via YouTube