A missing man in Florida was found and rescued after being buried shoulder-deep in quicksand.
Dramatic bodycam video footage showed the rescue of the man who had been reported missing before first responders found him stuck in the sand pit at Vulcan Materials Company, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
The Jacksonville man, identified as 36-year-old Andrew Giddens, was reported missing last month after a welfare check following concerns about his depressed state of mind due to a break-up, according to a Fox Weather report.
(Video Credit: Action News Jax)
“Multiple agencies began looking for the man, including an aviation unit, as his loved ones remained concerned for his safety,” WSVN reported, noting that a car was found parked on the side of the road near a sand plant in Gainesville.
Last week, things took a dramatic turn.
“First responders were called into action by an employee of the sand plant who also happened to get his car stuck nearby and stumbled upon the missing man,” WSVN reported.
“Unfortunately, with the materials that he was covered with and caked with, it made it almost impossible for our fleet devices to be able to see him. We’re in this area he was at, he was covered nearly up to his neck, and this material, and it was basically below ground, so it was almost impossible for us to see them without technology,” Putman County Sheriff’s Office Major D. Ussery explained.
(Video Credit: CBS 12 News – WPEC)
Rescue crews tried to pull Giddens out using ropes, but then brought in ladders and other supplies when the surrounding ground proved unstable and unsafe. One of the rescuing deputies also became trapped in the quicksand and needed help getting free.
“He’s stuck in this material as well, so they have to take extra precautions to make sure they don’t get stuck in said material. So yes, there were many apparatuses that were used to extract him from that, as you’ll be able to see through the pictures, which is something I have not seen in my 23-year career,” Ussery said.
It reportedly took two to three hours to pull him to safety, and he was airlifted to a nearby trauma center in critical condition. The outlet reported that he is expected to recover, noting that “deputies say he was without food or water and experienced freezing temperatures for days on end.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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