Two hikers spent hours lost in alligator-filled Florida swamp. See the rescue video
Two hikers faced a worse-case scenario in Florida when they got lost after dark in an alligator-infested swamp — and saw nothing but shin-deep water in every direction.
It happened Saturday, Dec. 23, in the 2,500-acre Cypress Creek Nature Preserve, which is home to alligators, rattlesnakes, fire ants and countless other things that bite. The preserve is about 20 miles north of Tampa.
“We received a call from one of the lost hikers at 6:25 pm. They mentioned being lost for over four hours and attempting to find their way out unsuccessfully,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office told McClatchy News.
“They decided to call us as it got dark, and they found themselves in a swampy area.”
A search was quickly mounted, and an aviation unit with night vision goggles spotted the hikers around 7:30 p.m. in the woods.
Three searchers on foot were then guided from above to the men, who were found trudging through murky water with only a cellphone to light the way.
The pair cheerfully greeted the deputies and were clearly happy to be found, the video shows. Neither was injured, officials say. Their identities were not released.
“The hikers were ... safely escorted back to the entrance of the preserve,” the sheriff’s office said.
Cypress Creek Nature Preserve “is part of a vast wildlife corridor” that incorporates forests, swamps, cypress stands and marshes, according to Hillsboroughcounty.org.
It has marked hiking trails, but warns “many trails will have standing water” during the rainy season.
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