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Missing Man Found After 11 Hour, 11 Mile Walk Down The Railroad
July 8, 2010
Authorities spent about two hours Wednesday evening searching for a Walnut Hill man that became lost after he walked about 11 miles along a railroad.
The 32-year old man phoned the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office about 6:30 p.m. saying he was lost on the railroad, and he had no idea where he was actually located. He told emergency dispatchers that he had left his home on Juniper Street in Walnut Hill about 5:30 a.m. with his two dogs. He said he had started walking along the railroad, apparently at Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill.
Eleven hours later, he told dispatchers that he only knew he was still on the railroad tracks somewhere in the woods.
Deputies checked the few crossings the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway makes in North Escambia, while sheriff’s dispatchers tried to use the man’s cellphone GPS coordinates to locate him. The data provided by the man’s cellphone placed him at various locations, including Crabtree Church Road in Molino — but Crabtree Church Road does not intersect the railway line.
Just as the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was about to take to the air to search for the missing man, he once again phoned dispatchers and said had walked to a dirt road. He was located on Barrineau Park Road, near the Perdido River and the Alabama/Florida state line where he was picked up by a friend, apparently uninjured, and driven back to Walnut Hill.
Comments
27 Responses to “Missing Man Found After 11 Hour, 11 Mile Walk Down The Railroad”
Glad they found him safe, and to someone who is lost, there is nothing funny about it.
I have even gotten lost at a drive-in theater after exiting the concession stand! But at least in my situation, I was not out there all alone. What a terrible experience to have to endure, but thankfully he had a cell phone with him.
One wonders if heat stroke affected this man’s ability to think straight..otherwise why would anyone walk 11 miles in one direction in the blazing heat without turning around and going home? Had to be temporary heat stroke/exhaustion insanity.
SORRY FOR TYPO, THAT IS RESCUED.
YES, HE WAS LOST , WALKING IN THE NATURAL. THANK GOD HE WAS RECUED. BUT, LET’S LOOK AT THIS FROM A SPRITUAL POINT. FOR EVERYONE JUDGING , ASK YOURSELF A QUESTION, AM I WONDERING IN THE WILDERNESS AND NEED TO BE RECUED? HAVE I LOST MY SENSE OF DIRECTION? DO I KNOW THE WAY OUT? DO I NEED TO CRY OUT FOR HELP?IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS I ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND A GOOD BIBLE BASE CHURCH ASAP.
Poor man, I know he had to be so exhausted from that long walk. Kim I am so glad that they found your brother and that he was alright…
Next time take a compass………and a bottle of water!!!
I went walking back of the house. I knew where I was all the time. I was absolutely sure I knew where I was. There was no doubt in my mind.
Right up until the time I came OUt of the woods looking in a completely different direction and nowhere near where I thought I was.
And that was back when I had far more sense than I do now.
David, glad all cell phones have GPS
I am glad that I have you’ll attention that signed on to this story….because you need to be asking God for forgiveness for passing judgement against your brother….and also my brother….because you don’t know anything about him…except he got lost….and you should have been sending up a prayer instead of passing judgment….and no his not on drugs and he wasn’t drinking….he’s the most humblest person you every want to meet…..I thank God for keeping his Angels camped around him until my uncle Ten and Floyd found him…..and my prayer tonight is that God forgive you’ll and change you’ll heart and mind…..
Be Blessed!
You know, now that I think about it, I got lost kinda like this once. It’s so embarassing to think of it happening to you, because there’s no way to describe it! You kinda start to panick and hours feel like days. In my case, got my car stuck in the mud while fishing on a dead end country road. Every shortcut I thought I was taking ended up getting me more and more lost. Once you dedicate yourself to walking a certain direction, you keep thinking you could almost be where you will recognize something, so you keep walking. I couldn’t call for help since there were no cell phones back then…well atleast I didn’t know anybody with one. I only got found because someone came looking for me because it was getting dark.
maybe when he got back on the track he was not sure which way was the way he came.It is not like the woods look different going oneway than another.Having hiked 2500 miles on a marked trail the marks dont tell you north or south.If he was confused maybe he thought he was going the right direction.from one directionally challenged bperson,I am glad this had a happy ending.you are right about the dogs knowing the way home.My dog took off into the deep woods and didn’t come out for hours.I am sitting at the end of the dirt road for several hours,sure enough here comes the dog!
For all of you that always have negiative thoughts and comments about others yeah it may sound fishy but extreme heat makes the body and mind not function normally and if you know where walnut hill is you know to be in milno is a good distance in extreme heat and on feet dont judge just think God there was a happy ending.
How do you get lost on a railroad track?If you are going north turn around and go south and you will return to your starting point.
Thanks again Uncle Kenny and Floyd and the deputies that worked so hard to rescue my brother.
God Bless you
We thank God for his safe return…No he is not on drugs nor have a mental problem…He was walking his dogs as he always do and became very exhuasted . He tried to find the nearest road so his wife could come and pick him up. After not being able to find a ride he went back to the tracks and lost his thought of direction…His family gives God praise and honor for allowing him to be found safe and unharmed. God has always been with my brother and I knew he wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to him. We were afraid for him but that’s only human.
I am glad he is okay, and let’s not assume he was drinking or using drugs, unless we find out different. I can lose my direction anywhere. I am absolutely lousey at keeping my direction, and I have never drank, or did drugs. I want tell you some of the places where I have gotten turned around, because you would make fun of me, but it is not funny to lose your direction. I am glad they found him.
What happened to his two dogs? Did they tag along all day on this strange outing? I have no sense of direction myself – but my Yellow Lab/ Mixed Breed never forgets where she came from or where she lives.
Well Escmabia Res… Why the heck would he walk 11 miles from home???? Sounds kinda fishy to me.
Talk about being on the wrong track !
Some of you aren’t thinking, saying he should go back the way he came from. He was 11 miles from home at 6:30 pm, he would have been out there for hours in the dark with the bears.
Those tracks go through some of the deepest woods around here around Barrineau Park. Maybe he walked further south, turned around and was walking back north. He would have had no clue where he was.
Maybe (and probably a valid assumpition since it was 11 hours) he had to use the bathroom. Step into the woods, walking back out, and maybe you don’t know which way you just came from? It could all look the same north and south on a straight stretch. There are not houses, roads, etc out there for MILES.
Strange….walking 1 mile an hour is barely moving. Also don’t the tracks go back the same way they come from?
Im with D on this one.. Why he didnt just go back the way he came? Im sure there had to be a road or house along the way he could have stopped and ask for help????
Sounds like he has Alzheimers. This is typical of something an ALZ patient would do.
Maybe he was going to journal his travels but could not find any Wifi to post his story.
Not only thank God for cell phones but also he should be thankful for good reception where he ended up!
that is very weird. Makes you wonder if there is a mental problem or drug issue.
Poor guy. Why didn’t he just walk back the way he came? Idk. Atleast it ended well.
Hmm.. well that was dumb.. but thank God for cell phones.