Two oil rig workers were headed towards the Redfern Lake trail in Canada's British Columbia on a regular Tuesday when they saw a young man headed towards them.

The pair, who were on their way to work, recognised the man as missing 20-year-old Sam Benastick.

Sam had not been heard from since October 8, when he set off on a fishing trip about 900km north of Vancouver.

The pair took Sam to hospital where police confirmed his identity and informed the family of the good news.

Sam was missing for 50 days as temperatures dropped to -20 degrees Celsius and snow fell across the alpine tundras and rocky peaks of Redfern-Keily Provincial Park.

This is how it unfolded.

A 10-day fishing trip

Sam left on October 7 to go fishing at Redfern Lake. With him was a Honda 230cc dirt bike and a black Osprey backpack.

When he did not return from what was meant to be a 10-day trip, his family reported him missing to the police on October 19.

His mother, Sandra Crocker, reached out to a local fishing and hunters Facebook group on October 26 hoping someone had seen him.

She said there was no sign of Sam except his car at the trailhead landing.

"Any hunters see him?" she asked the group.

A day later, Ms Crocker shared an update, concerned her son had run into trouble with his bike, slept in his car and headed out in another direction.

"He googled Sikanni Chief River fish," she wrote.

"It's another area as we found no sign at Redfern however we are still tasking that area. If anybody saw him or his bike in this Sikanni area please PM me."

A massive search

More than 50 search and rescue volunteers from a range of groups in British Columbia joined the mission to find Sam.

Central Okanagan Search & Rescue wrote on Facebook they were joined by searchers from Kamloops, Logan Lake, Shuswap and Vernon as they assisted the Fort Nelson SAR in the Buckinghorse River area.

"Over 50 SAR volunteers from over a dozen teams attended the seven operational periods," they wrote.

By October 29 — 20 days after he was first reported missing — a search and rescue mission was suspended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

"Endless volunteers searching on the Redfern trail resulted in no trace," Ms Crocker wrote.

She said they scoured the Sikanni Chief and the Buckinghorse rivers with no result and continued to the Prophet River hoping to find him.

A month passed since Sam first set off and he was still missing. Ms Crocker said at the time the only sign of him was a jerry can found at Robb Lake, about 50km south of his original destination.

During the time he was missing, temperatures fell to -20 degrees Celsius and snow fell throughout an area known for rapidly changing weather conditions.

Still, the family had not given up hope they would find Sam alive.

A chance encounter

Two workers were headed to Redfern Lake Trail for work on November 26 when they saw a man walking towards them.

As they got closer, they recognised him as Sam.

They took him to hospital, where his identity was able to be confirmed.

According to the police report, Sam told police that he stayed in his car for a couple of days and then walked to a creek on the mountainside where he camped out for 10–15 days.

He then moved down the valley and built a camp and shelter in a dried-out creek bed before he made his way to where he flagged down the two men and was taken to safety.

"Finding Sam alive is the absolute best outcome," RCMP corporal Madonna Saunderson said.

"It's kind of unbelievable," said Al Benastick, Sam Benastick's uncle, in an interview with CBC.

He said his nephew, who he described as an avid outdoors person, was suffering from "frostbite and some smoke inhalation".

The Northern Health district told local media Sam was "doing well and recovering at Fort Nelson General Hospital".

A photo shared by Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association from Sam's mother showed him giving two thumbs up from a hospital bed.

She captioned the photo: "Complained that he hasn't caught one fish.

"He will make recovery just needs some time."