Beyhan Mutlu, 51, went drinking with a friend in a forest in the town of Inegol, northwest Turkey, late Tuesday. His wife reported him missing after he did not return home and she heard he had walked away from his friend, drunk.

Gendarmerie and rescue teams were called in to find Mutlu, who had gone to sleep in a house in the forest, Turkish online news site T24 reported Friday.

He came across members of the search party in the morning and decided to help them find the missing person. He realized he was the focus of the search when they began calling his name.

"After a while, they said they were looking for Beyhan Mutlu," T24 quoted him as saying. "I broke into a cold sweat when I heard my name."

"I told them I was Beyhan Mutlu, but they continued to search," Mutlu continued. "They didn’t believe me. The truth came out when my friend Mesut saw me."

Mutlu said he was part of the search team for more than half an hour.