Senior Woman Survives Four Hot Days Stuck in the Mud |
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In June of 2011, Kathleen Shino of Holiday, Florida was out for an
evening walk near her home. What turned out to be four days later, she
was found submerged in mud up to her neck and tangled in the mangroves
in an area about three quarters of a mile from her home.
Her
family had last spoken with her on Friday, couldn't reach her Saturday,
and checked on her Sunday, only to find the crutches she uses on bad
days, her car, her wallet, and her phone.
"She was just
gone," said Bobby Fusco, her son-in-law. Soon they were on a full
search for her. They handed out fliers. The Pasco County Sheriff's
Office was now searching as well and issued an alert by calling homes
in the area to tell people to be on the lookout for her.
Shino
has diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis but no history of dementia. Her
family considers her a strong independent woman and never had reason to
be concerned about her living alone.
Then, on Tuesday
afternoon, Alexandra Echazabal, 30, and her mother, Alexia Cuartas, 61,
heard a noise that sounded like moaning as they worked in their
backyard garden, which faces the swamp. Then they notice that the water
was rippling near the thicket and they heard cries of “help.” The women
called the sheriff’s office immediately.
The responding
deputies didn’t recognize the sounds as being human as they approached
the area and thought that maybe they were going to end up facing an
alligator. "That was the last thing I was expecting," the officer
said, "to see a human face coming out of the water."
When
deputies found Shino in the swamp, she was almost nonresponsive, had
ants crawling on her face, and her legs and arms were trapped by the
mud and entangled in branches. Alligators still live in those waters,
so she was lucky not to have encountered them.
The
sheriff's office said that in order to rescue her from the area, rescue
crews had to cut away the brush with a chainsaw to clear a path to her.
She was taken immediately to the hospital and listed in critical
condition. It took her several days to come around completely.
The
distance between her home and where she was found was not far, yet
Shino herself is not sure how she ended up stuck in the mud and off the
beaten path. She typically only walks to the end of her street and
back. The doctors believe Shino's diabetes may have caused confusion;
rising or plummeting blood sugar levels could lead to delirium.
Shino
now wears a personal GPS device, which provides her family with peace
of mind. She has fully recovered from her physical injuries and is
thankful to have been found.
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