Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A group of sixth-graders canoeing on Florida's Hillsborough River found a Tampa hiker who had been missing for two days. Francis Netto of Temple Terrace set out on a 15-mile hike in Wilderness Park Wednesday, an activity he does several times a month. However this time he accidentally fell asleep, the St. Petersburg Times reported. Advertisement When he woke up, it was dark and his cellphone was dead. The next morning, he tried to find his car but wound up deeper in the forest, a sheriff's deputy said. On Friday, Netto, 56, reached the Hillsborough River. He attempted to float down it, but saw an alligator and had to get out. He was still in the water when the children found him. "The first thing he did was smile," said 12-year-old Maykro Perez. The group took him to a nature classroom where emergency responders took over. Netto is expected to make a full recovery. "Next time he goes hiking," said Kadisha Avillah, 12, "he shouldn't go alone."
