A 78-year-old missing woman from Utah was found stuck in quicksand last Wednesday along an area of a Utah park where she often took her walks, the Associated Press reported. She had been reported missing 14 hours earlier after she failed to show up to an event at a nearby library.
The unidentified woman was confirmed to be in good condition when she was located during the evening hours of July 9, about 14 hours after one of her legs sank up to the knee, the Grand County Sheriff's office said.
After she was reported to be missing, deputies set out to search the Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park where she was known to frequent, leading them to locate her car in the parking lot. As they made their way to the bike path she was known to take walks on, they heard her cries of help, MSN News reported. About a quarter of a mile up the path, deputies found her stuck in an area of quicksand.
The elderly woman's legs were stuck in the quicksand up to her knee as she had been waiting for help since 14 hours with only a bottle of water, which she had taken on her walk, to keep her hydrated. It took about four people to help dig her out from the struggling quicksand since it kept filling back in as they attempted to pull her out, Sharon Brussell, who works at Arches, said.
The woman was tired but "extremely grateful" for rescuers, who carried her up to her car in a litter, said Brussell, who recalled a similar rescue involving a stuck cow. Although it is rare to get stuck in quicksand in the area, local officials said it does happen when sandy areas become saturated with water.
Arches National Park features more than 2,000 natural stone arches, giant balanced rocks, tall pinnacles, and massive fin-shaped rocks.
