Traveler on Mend After Fall in Jungle
By John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News

What started out as a simple mission to get some mangoes from the Costa Rican jungle ended in a harrowing fall to the bottom of a ravine and a weeklong struggle to survive.

Tommy Brown, 32, did survive, but he broke his sternum, pelvis, wrist and a vertebra in the 50-foot fall. Brown arrived in Colorado on Saturday night and was listed as "stable" at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins.

"I can't believe we got him here in one piece," said his sister, Jordan Maguran, who lives near Aspen.

Maguran and her sister, Elizabeth Grimes, first found out their brother was in trouble six days ago, when friends he was staying with in the Pacific Coast town of Jacó told her that Brown was missing.

About the time his sisters were getting that news, Brown was emerging from the jungle. He survived on a diet of leaves and his own urine for what he thinks was anywhere from five to seven days.

The Red Cross in Jacé took the delirious and dehydrated American by ambulance to a nearby clinic.

Maguran and Grimes flew to San José, where they rented a van and drove to the hospital where Brown was being treated.

"He's got insect bites from head to toe, but he was thankful because they kept him alert (in the jungle)," Maguran said.

A longtime surfer and traveler, Brown had been in Costa Rica about a week, checking out the surf and spending time with friends.

According to Maguran, Brown went on an evening hike to pick mangoes April 12, and was surprised to find a trail that he hadn't seen before.

Curious, Brown followed it until he found some tree stumps and a set of cables. Thinking it was an obstacle course, he climbed on to the cables but lost his balance. Brown told his sister that he managed to catch a cable on the way down.

While hanging in the encroaching darkness, Brown realized to his horror that the ground was more than 50 feet below him. With the thick jungle canopy, Brown hadn't noticed a precipice and he told his sister there had been no warning signs posted.

"He made an honest mistake - it was as if there was no boundary line in skiing," Maguran said.