A man who was rescued Wednesday after being stuck in the mud for a day and a half is expected to be OK, emergency responders say.
The Saranac Fire Department responded to Riverside Drive and Hotchkiss Road in Boston Township, between Lowell and Saranac, after someone heard the man’s yells for help and called 911.
Saranac Fire Department Capt. Dale Hice Jr. said the man was digging a hole with a small backhoe, though it’s unclear why he was digging. At some point, the man stepped off his tractor to move a piece of the equipment and slipped into the mud.
It took about 30 minutes for firefighters to get him out.
“Dug around him with shovels and by hands and slid a backboard in behind him, able to keep sliding him out,” Hice said.
The man is said to be in good spirits. He was a little cold, but thankful the crews were able to get him out. He apparently joked with firefighters that once he was free that he was going to Disneyland.
The warmer weather West Michigan has been experiencing undoubtedly improved the man’s chances of survival during his day and a half of being stuck, but there may not have been so much mud without the recent warmup.