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EAST LANSING – A group of four women running along a trail on Michigan State University’s campus Saturday morning heard a plea for help coming from a dense thicket.

“We just heard this cry for help. ‘I need help! I need help!’ It just stopped us dead in our tracks,” said Cindy Eiseler, one of the four runners and the program director of Playmakers Fitness Foundation.

Eiseler and the three others paused along the trail, wondering whether they heard it correctly.

“Then we heard it again, somebody calling,” she said.

They couldn’t see the person pleading for help, she said. They were on a paved trail on the western edge of Michigan State University’s campus.

Eiseler yelled from the trail, offering to call 911. The women hesitated to go into the woods, she said, not sure whether the call was legitimate or a trap to lure them in.

It turns out, it was real.

A 37-year-old man was found impaled on a stump around 8 a.m. Saturday after he fell from a tree about 6 p.m. Friday, said Michigan State University Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor.

She declined to release the man’s name or his reason for being in the tree. The man was taken to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.

“It’s a good thing they were running,” McGlothian-Taylor said.

Eiseler’s group flagged down runner Chris Smith and three others running the trail as they waited for emergency responders. Eiseler told them the man’s voice was getting weaker, so Smith and another runner went into the woods to find him.

Smith said his friend started calling out to locate the wounded man. He responded but his voice sounded more like a cat, Smith said.

They found him about 40 yards in from the gate into the woods. A mountain bike, headphones and water bottle were about 20 yards in from the gate.

“Basically a chunk of tree was sticking through his shoulder. He was laying on his stomach. We were trying to figure out what we could do to help,” he said.

The man spent Friday night shirtless and laying facedown, unable to move. Smith’s friend asked him why he was in the tree.

“Enjoying nature,” was his response.

They alerted Eiseler’s group that there was a man in serious trouble. Another runner in Smith’s group, Victoria Mikko, a medical assistant, came in to help support him until responders arrived.

Mikko kneeled next to the man and realized he had pulled himself off the stump at some point. She described the shard of wood as about 2 inches in diameter and a foot high.

“He was pretty rough upped. He had a big hole in his arm. You could see the bone,” she said. “He also had an injury to the chest and lots of scrapes and bumps.”

The man told Mikko that he had passed out. She said that if he nicked an artery, he would have bled to death. 

“I knew if he was out there another night, he would not have survived,” Mikko said.

Smith said he started clearing a path for emergency responders while Mikko tended to him.

Smith’s running group, the Lansing chapter of Team Red, White and Blue, a veteran’s support group, had passed the area earlier as they went on a run. His group of four was on its way back when they stopped to help.

Smith, a database administrator,, said that they didn’t hear the man when they ran by earlier that morning. He credited Eiseler’s group with saving the man’s life.

“He was in bad shape,” he said. “If they hadn’t called 911, I honestly believe he would have died back there.”

Smith said another member of his running group went to visit the man at Sparrow and took him a shoe he had left in the woods. The running group plans to keep tabs on him as he heals, Smith said. 

John Foren, a Sparrow spokesman, said the man, who had fractures, is expected to recover.

Meanwhile, Eiseler didn’t want to take too much credit for saving the man. Her group went out for a long run, leaving Michigan Athletic Club at 6 a.m. They were on their way back when they heard the cries for help.

“I just feel we were at the right place at the right time,” Eisler said. “Being so early in the morning, there was no traffic. He probably heard us talking as we were running along the sidewalk trail. I’m sure he probably heard us and yelled out.”

Nevaeha, 8, plays in the fountain at Canal Park on July 17, 2019. Washington DC's heat index values are predicted to reach 105 to 110 Fahrenheit due to temperatures in the mid 90s on July 17, 2019. The nation's capital faces the hottest weather so far this summer as a heat wave is poised to spread across much of the central and eastern US over the next several days.
The pack rides past a sunflowers fields during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Toulouse, France, July 17, 2019.
Workers check the crop of echium in full flower near the village of Feering, southern England, July 17, 2019. The brightly colored crop fills more than 6,000 acres across the area, with echium grown for their seed oil to be extracted and used in cosmetics, food and various pharmaceutical products.
Preliminary work at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, July 17, 2019 in Paris. The chief architect of France's historic monuments says that three months after the April 15 fire the cathedral site is still being secured.
Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is surrounded by security as she arrives at federal court on July 17, 2019 in New York City. El Chapo was found guilty on all charges in a drug conspiracy trial and will be sentenced this morning.
Flowers are offered to Buddhist monks during a floral merit-making ceremony, known as 'tak bat dok mai', at Wat Ratchabophit temple in Bangkok, Thailand, July 17, 2019. The ceremony is held every year to mark the commencement of the Buddhist Lent Day or Khao Pansa.
This is the bow of the German Navy's school ship 'Gorch Fock' in Berne, July 17, 2019. In the coming weeks, the hull of the training vessel will be painted in its characteristic white coat.
Two property service personnel scale the glass roof construction of the MyZeil shopping center in downtown Frankfurt Germany as they work on the structure, July 17, 2019. The shopping center was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas and opened on Feb. 26, 2009.
Children jump into the water despite strong waves after a downpour at Manila's bay, Philippines, July 17, 2019. Schools in metropolitan Manila have been suspended as Tropical Storm Danas, locally named Falcon, continue to enhance the southwest monsoon as it maintains its strength bringing heavy rains over the area.
An image of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo 11 mission is projected on the Washington Memorial, during the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing festivities at the National Mall in Washington, July 16, 2019.
An Indian man guides his cattle to a temporary dry shelter near flood water in Jhargaon, east of Gauhati, India, July 17, 2019.
Palestinian children play with water in a slum on the outskirts of the Khan Yunis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 17, 2019, during a heat wave.
People participate in a demonstration to protest proposed amendments to the 2008 Myanmar Constitution in Yangon on July 17, 2019.
A farmer leads sheep during an urban transhumance in Paris on July, 17 2019. - The shepherds of Seine-Saint-Denis and their herd begin on July 6, 2019 eleven days of transhumance, from the basilica of Saint-Denis to the center of Paris.
French plastic artist, Sam Dougados, draws a shark with a rake in the sand of the "Cote des Basques" beach, during the Discovery Channel Shark Week, in Biarritz, on July 17, 2019.
A Palestinian demonstrator kicks a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during clashes following a demonstration in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 17, 2019, following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail.
Mandean men, known in Arabic as Sabean, take part in the 'great feast' or the Mandaean new year rituals in Baghdad on July 17, 2019. The Sabeans, originally from southern and southeastern Iraq, say their religion is pre-Christian even though they revere John the Baptist. Today the number has dwindled to some 5000 who live in Iraq and are officially recognised as a separate religion.

Replay

  • Nevaeha, 8, plays in the fountain at Canal Park on July 17, 2019. Washington DC's heat index values are predicted to reach 105 to 110 Fahrenheit due to temperatures in the mid 90s on July 17, 2019. The nation's capital faces the hottest weather so far this summer as a heat wave is poised to spread across much of the central and eastern US over the next several days. 1 of 17
  • The pack rides past a sunflowers fields during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Toulouse, France, July 17, 2019. 2 of 17
  • Workers check the crop of echium in full flower near the village of Feering, southern England, July 17, 2019. The brightly colored crop fills more than 6,000 acres across the area, with echium grown for their seed oil to be extracted and used in cosmetics, food and various pharmaceutical products. 3 of 17
  • Preliminary work at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, July 17, 2019 in Paris. The chief architect of France's historic monuments says that three months after the April 15 fire the cathedral site is still being secured.4 of 17
  • Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is surrounded by security as she arrives at federal court on July 17, 2019 in New York City. El Chapo was found guilty on all charges in a drug conspiracy trial and will be sentenced this morning. 5 of 17
  • Flowers are offered to Buddhist monks during a floral merit-making ceremony, known as 'tak bat dok mai', at Wat Ratchabophit temple in Bangkok, Thailand, July 17, 2019. The ceremony is held every year to mark the commencement of the Buddhist Lent Day or Khao Pansa. 6 of 17
  • This is the bow of the German Navy's school ship 'Gorch Fock' in Berne, July 17, 2019. In the coming weeks, the hull of the training vessel will be painted in its characteristic white coat. 7 of 17
  • Two property service personnel scale the glass roof construction of the MyZeil shopping center in downtown Frankfurt Germany as they work on the structure, July 17, 2019. The shopping center was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas and opened on Feb. 26, 2009. 8 of 17
  • Children jump into the water despite strong waves after a downpour at Manila's bay, Philippines, July 17, 2019. Schools in metropolitan Manila have been suspended as Tropical Storm Danas, locally named Falcon, continue to enhance the southwest monsoon as it maintains its strength bringing heavy rains over the area.9 of 17
  • An image of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo 11 mission is projected on the Washington Memorial, during the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing festivities at the National Mall in Washington, July 16, 2019. 10 of 17
  • An Indian man guides his cattle to a temporary dry shelter near flood water in Jhargaon, east of Gauhati, India, July 17, 2019. 11 of 17
  • Palestinian children play with water in a slum on the outskirts of the Khan Yunis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 17, 2019, during a heat wave. 12 of 17
  • People participate in a demonstration to protest proposed amendments to the 2008 Myanmar Constitution in Yangon on July 17, 2019. 13 of 17
  • A farmer leads sheep during an urban transhumance in Paris on July, 17 2019. - The shepherds of Seine-Saint-Denis and their herd begin on July 6, 2019 eleven days of transhumance, from the basilica of Saint-Denis to the center of Paris.14 of 17
  • French plastic artist, Sam Dougados, draws a shark with a rake in the sand of the "Cote des Basques" beach, during the Discovery Channel Shark Week, in Biarritz, on July 17, 2019. 15 of 17
  • A Palestinian demonstrator kicks a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during clashes following a demonstration in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 17, 2019, following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail. 16 of 17
  • Mandean men, known in Arabic as Sabean, take part in the 'great feast' or the Mandaean new year rituals in Baghdad on July 17, 2019. The Sabeans, originally from southern and southeastern Iraq, say their religion is pre-Christian even though they revere John the Baptist. Today the number has dwindled to some 5000 who live in Iraq and are officially recognised as a separate religion. 17 of 17

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Follow Judy Putnam on Twitter @judyputnam.

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