Stranded man 'embarrassed' to use mobile phone

A California man who spent five days stranded on a deserted island said he was too embarrassed to use his cellphone to call for help.

Brian "Goat Man" Hopper, 54, of Encino, who was rescued by the Coast Guard Monday after spending five days nibbling on vitamins and native plants and fashioning a crude "SOS" sign until the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him from Roe Island, north of Concord in Suisun Bay, said he was too embarrassed to use his cellphone to call for help while trying to repair his inflatable raft, which had sprung a leak during his excursion.



"I was embarrassed to be stranded on an island," Hopper said. "I thought I could fix my boat and make it to land ... I didn't want to spend the taxpayers' money to have the Coast Guard come rescue some stupid guy."

However, Hopper finally called a cousin on Monday morning who contacted the Coast Guard. Hopper said he now admits he should have called 911 in the first place. "It was the right thing to do," he said.

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