NEAR GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida man reported missing was rescued from a sinking situation after first responders found him stuck in the sand.
Officials said the search for the 36-year-old Andrew Giddens, a Jacksonville man, continued Monday after deputies discovered a car parked on the side of the road near a sand plant in Gainesville.
Detectives linked the car to the man and found a missing-person report filed earlier in the month.
Multiple agencies began looking for the man, including an aviation unit, as his loved ones remained concerned for his safety.
In the first few hours of their search, they couldn’t find him.
“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,” said Putman County Sheriff’s Office Major D. Ussery.
As the man struggled inside the mud, deputies say he was without food or water and experienced freezing temperatures for days on end. It’s unclear how the man ended up in this situation.
But on Wednesday, there was a break in the case.
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.
Officials responded to the area, but because the terrain was like quicksand, the rescue was tricky, and they had to think of creative ways to get him out.
Rescue crews initially used ropes, but when that didn’t work, they brought in ladders and other supplies to safely dig the man out.
Detectives said crews had to be careful and slow in their rescue operation to prevent one of their officers from sinking.
“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,” said Ussery.
Officials said it took two to three hours to successfully pull the man out, freeing him from the dangerous situation.
The man was airlifted to a nearby trauma center in critical condition, but as of Friday afternoon, he is expected to recover.
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