Three weeks later, his mother got a phone call with the news he had been found, fire officials said.

Matthew Grant, an athlete studying mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, was last seen leaving his home Nov. 20 in the Rochester area, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and a Facebook page dedicated to finding him.

Grant left his phone behind and had his wallet stolen before he went missing, according to the Facebook page.

A toll captured his E-ZPass at an exit near Syracuse, the Facebook group said, but there were no other signs of him.

The authorities, his family and community members began tirelessly searching for him.

Vehicle found prompts search efforts on trail

Then, on Dec. 12, his vehicle was found at a trailhead used by hikers to trek the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap area in Pennsylvania, his father, Mark Grant, told WROC.

Rescuers began searching the area for the missing collegiate wrestler, according to the Delaware Water Gap Fire Department.

The next day, his mother was at the command post with the search team when she got a call from Grant saying he was safe and in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, fire officials said.

He called from a police station when he realized rescuers were looking for him, officials said and the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

Grant’s vehicle was parked at the trailhead while he hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Adirondack Mountain News reported from police accounts.

“I feel incredibly grateful to have people like you all in my corner. It’s hard to understand just how much support you will have, regardless of how you are doing personally. I am doing much better now that I am reunited with my family,” Grant said in a statement posted to Facebook on Dec. 14.

The Appalachian Trail is 2,198.4 miles long and spans 14 states, running from Maine to Georgia.