on july 20th when larry shaddy told his roommate at the house over my shoulder that he couldn't sleep. he wanted to go off for a walk. so he set off down this street. now a week later we know where he went and he didn't get very far. the morning after larry shaddy walked away from this house he rents with five other vietnam vets, his roommate called the owner worried. >> the first thing we said to him was you should have called us at 1:00 in the morning because that was very unusual for larry to go for a walk. >> reporter: they searched high and low for the 66-year- old with chronic health problems. >> as the days went by we became less and less hopeful. >> reporter: then this afternoon a pedestrian noticed a man trapped beneath a tree in that ravine and called for help. >> we arrived on location and found the man late 60s who apparently had fallen or slid down this embankment and underneath a tree that had already fallen. >> reporter: this is the space where larry shaddy spent seven days trapped and this is how close he was to the road and rescue, but shaddy was wedged too tightly to

richard: larry shaddy was wedginged in there. tim is going to pan over. we are only 20 feet for the nearest roadway. >> in this kind of heat, yeah. richard: it really happened larry shaddy. >> he said he was going to go for a two-hour walk. i thought it was strange. richard: he decided around 1:00 in the morning to take a walk along the road. >> that was unusual. richard: he somehow fell down an embankment and got stuck. >> there was a gap between the tree and the ground and slid down with so much force he was trapped underneath. richard: 47 days he was trapped -- for seven days he was trapped under the tree 20 feet from the row. >> i thought of his vietnam skills. that is what helped him survive. richard: a passing driver called 911. >> i couldn't imagine being outdoors that long without potable water. >> i'm so thankful we found him today. richard: i obviously cannot lift up this treatment first responders had to use power tools to get shaddy out of there. he was transferred to a hospital. he was delirious and dehydrated. they expect he will be ok. his

he'll go to a hospital for a little while but larry shaddy will be just fine. >> mr. shaddy is in the icu tonight. he's recovering from what they call extreme dehydration. >>> the body of a second swimmer who went missing friday night off cove point beach has been recovered. he was dug los brown, co-owner of a popular dc restaurant known as coasta brava. his brother's body was recovered saturday. police believe the men entered deep water, became tired trying to swim against the tide and finally went under. >>> investigators in frederick county are trying to figure out what led a homeless man to stab two cooks. a husband and wife. the husband was killed. the wife critical ly injured. it all happened last night at the anna prayer counseling and retreat center. a korean church retreat in urbana, maryland. >> it was a very bloody brutal crime scene. the wounds included stab wounds, a number of slashing cut wounds. a lot of blood. again, some of the deputies that went in to the crime scene were pretty disturbed about what they saw. >> the suspect is 30-year-old song su kim.

a 66-year-old manual, a vietnam veteran, his name is larry shaddy. he was trapped under this tree.is roommates had reported him missing but on july 20 he said he had gone on a walk through this neighborhood and all along he had fallen off this ravine over here trapped under a tree. he was there for seven days without food or water. he was just far enough off of this main road here that drivers couldn't see him but a pedestrian did likely just in time. >> i'm glad we found him. i don't know how much longer he would have lasted out here in the elements. >> reporter: again, he was down there for seven days without food or water. he was rescued. firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get him out. he's severely dehydrated, some minor injuries but he is recovering. how was he able to survive so long like that? his roommates say they think it's because of military training but firefighters still want to talk to him and find out how he was able to survive in those tcial conditions but he's been so -- [ inaudible ] >>> later today, we're expecting to learn more about important new rese

larry shaddy. the vietnam veteran rescued today. he is in the hospital but we are working to get an interview from his bedside. for now we are live from springdale kevin lewis, abc7 news. kimberly: thank you. moving ahead after a devastating fire. scott: fire marshals picking through the pieces of eight historic businesses in harper's ferry. and brad bell is live there now. brad, people still trying to figure out the best way to move forward, i guess. brad: two things. what caused the fire and how to move forward. you are right. look at the space between the buildings. we have been watching all day long -- a few minutes the fire marshal pulled out. but they have been picking up debris looking underneath to see if they can come one a cause for the fire. three days after the blaze. it's one reason there is talk in the town that somebody set the fire. intentionally or accidentally. but people in the town believe that a human is more than likely responsible for this. that is the search for the cause. still unknown. now as well, looking

larry shaddy who has been missing for a week. firefighters say shad sad left the veteran home last monday and hasn't been seen since. the vietnam veteran who has dementia and lung cancer and was feared dead. love ones astonished by the news say his wartime survival tactics must have kicked in. >> we were stunned. the first thing you say is thank god. he's alive. as the days go by and the longest he is out there the odds of survival becomes less and less. kevin: mr. shaddy is in a local hospital with cuts and bruises to his legs and had extreme dehydration. here is the remarkable thing. he is expected to make a full recovery again after seven days out in the elements. in springdale i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. leon: to new information in the deadly movie theater shooting in louisiana. as marci gonzalez reports tonight, investigators are getting a glimpse at the shooter's plan after finding a journal in his hotel room. marci: today celebrating the lives and sharing tears over the deaths of the two women pictured here on facebook kil

this afternoon the prince george's county rescuers freed larry shaddy from underneath a fallen tree in springdale on ardwick-ardmore road. he play been there since being reported missing a week ago. they suspect that shaddy tripped while out walking along the road and he may have fallen down a 20-foot embank. they are hoping to learn more about what happened as he recovers. the boy scout of america on cusp of one of the biggest shift in the organization 100-year history. sometime in the coming hours the scouting leaders will vote to remove a ban on gay scout leaders but this comes with a catch. suzanne kennedy in the satellite center with the catch. reaction from some of those leading the charge for change. suzanne: there is no word when the 80 member executive board will vote. but a vote indicates it will change tonight. the vote will change an organization in a way some thought would never happen. stephen achievedded the rank of eagle scout when he was 17. only to relinquish his award in 2013 when the scouts decided to permit participation by gay youths but not adults. >> previously

friends say a vietnam veteran's military training is why he survived a bizarre ordeal. 67-year-old larry shaddy is recovering in the hospital today after he spent an entire week trapped under a tree less than a block away from his home. he was reported missing on july 20 from a veterans home in spring dale, maryland. he went to an early morning walk that day and never came back. then yesterday a pedestrian happened to notice a man trapped beneath a tree in a ravine. >> we were on location and found the man late 60s who apparently had fallen or slid down this embankment and underneath a tree that had already fallen. so i'm glad we found him. i don't know how much he would have lasted out here in the elements. >> firefighters had to use the jaws of life to free him. he only suffered minor injuries and dehydration. his caretaker at the veterans home again credits his military training for saving his life. >>> d.c. police are still working to track down whoever shot and killed a man near nationals park. reports of the shooting came in just before 5:00 last evening along the 1300 block of 1st street

rescuers say the tree where 66-year-old larry shaddy spent basically the entire last week trapped is beyond this guard rail behind me about 10 feet off ardwick ardmore road. shaddy's roommates at a nearby group home, 50 yards away a group home for veterans reported him missing after he went out for a late night walk on the night of july 20th. turns out shaddy didn't get very far. investigators believe he was walking on the wooded side of the guard rail for reasons that aren't yet clear about 50 yards from his home when he slipped and fell. >> we arrived on location and found the man late 60s who apparently had fallen or slid down this embankment and underneath a tree that had already fallen. >> so the tree didn't fall on him, he fell under the tree? >> exactly. and he was wedged in there with such force he couldn't get himself out. >> not only could shaddy not get himself out but he couldn't get himself out with the help of firefighters. we're told firefighters had to use the jaws of life to cut him free of that tree around noon today. reporting live in prince george's county, wusa 9