Couple gets stranded during fishing trip in Louisiana. Photo shows creative rescue
A married couple found themselves in a sticky situation while fishing in southwest Louisiana, prompting a unique water rescue.
Agents were called around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 3, about two people whose boat got stuck in the southwest pass when the tide went out as they fished in Vermilion Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The couple got stranded, and they struggled to get their boat unstuck from the mud, officials said.
The woman was also dealing with a medical issue requiring prompt attention, though agents didn’t specify what it was.
Agents responded soon after but were only able to get within a few hundred yards of the couple and their boat, according to a news release.
They got creative and fashioned a raft out of floaties to keep the woman out of the sludge, which “was mixed with oyster shells,” wildlife officials said.
A photo posted on Facebook shows an agent wading into the mud, belly-first, to get to the stranded couple. Agents pulled the wife into one of their boats and got to her husband soon after, the release said.
Both were taken to a boat dock where they were treated by first responders and released, according to officials.
Additional information about the rescue wasn’t available.
Vermilion Parish is about 105 miles southwest of Baton Rouge.
This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 2:04 PM.