Hiding in a mountain crevice

According to accounts given by U.S. officials to various outlets, the airman used his mandatory Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training to evade capture for a day and a half. 

The rescue operation involved hundreds of special forces troops and military personnel, as well as dozens of U.S. warplanes and helicopters.

After the crash landing, the colonel hiked up a 7,000-foot mountain ridgeline and hid in a crevice. While evading capture, he activated an emergency beacon, which allowed U.S. forces to locate him, two U.S. officials told Fox News.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was at the center of the operation, launching a deception campaign to throw Iranian officials off, according to Axios. It said CIA operatives spread a false campaign within Iran that both crew members of the downed F-15 jet had already been found and that U.S. forces were working on exfiltration, trying to confuse Iranian officials who were also working to capture the officer.