The leather jacket Zachary DeMoss was wearing when he got into a motorcycle accident in Idaho might have saved his life. It’s not so much that the jacket protected him during the crash.

BOISE, Idaho — A Montana motorcyclist who was missing for five days after crashing along an Idaho mountain highway survived by drinking creek water until he was found, authorities say.

Four days after Zachary DeMoss was last seen on an Idaho highway, the official search was scaled back. Across the state line in Oregon, a high school buddy’s father decided to take matters into ...