CUSTER (WWJ) - Through the power of a boat and some muscle from first responders, a man was freed from a muddy entrapment after he sunk into chest-deep muck in West Michigan.
In a recent report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, conservation officer Kyle Publiski was patrolling the Indian bridge area in Mason County's Custer Township, about 12 miles east of Ludington, when he was flagged down by a man for help.
The man told Publiski that his friend had become "buried in the mud" down by the river and couldn't get free
The conservation officer went down by the river and located a man who had sunk up to his chest in mud about 12 feet from the river's edge.
According to the DNR, Publiski struggled using rope and logs for over 20 minutes in an attempt to free the trapped man. The conservation officer called central dispatch for back up after the man grew tired from their efforts.
The Mason County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Custer Fire Department, dispatched a patrol boat onto the Pere Marquette River and reached the two men at the scene.
First responders tried a strap around the stuck man's arms and back and with the strength of the DNR officer, a sheriff's deputy and a fire fighter, the man was finally yanked out of the muck.
The DNR said the man was fatigued and cold, but otherwise unharmed in the incident. He was take back to the access site by boat.