Advertisement

Missing family found safe after night in Everglades

By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

An Ohio family of five was found safe after they spent almost 24 hours missing in the swamps of the Everglades.

The Schreck family disappeared around 3 p.m. Thursday while on an airboat excursion and weren't rescued until 1 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Advertisement

Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue deployed air, land and water rescue vehicles at 9:28 Friday morning to an area about 40 miles west of the Timiami Trail, the portion of U.S. Highway 41 that travels through the Everglades between Tampa and Miami.

The search for Scott, 44, Carie, 42, and their sons Drew, 9, Luke, 7, and Zane, 3, of Akron, Ohio, combed some 1,000 square miles through murky swamp covered in dense sawgrass that would have prevented the family from being spotted at ground level.

Searchers heard them blowing whistles and an air horn and a crew aboard a helicopter eventually spotted the family aboard the camouflaged airboat.

Florida Fish and Wildlife said the Schrecks's airboat apparently got stuck in the vegetation.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Jorge Pino said the family appeared to be "in good condition," even though thunderstorms swept through the area Thursday night and more rain fell Friday.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines

Advertisement

Trending Stories

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement