Hunter was lost 2 days in Georgia swamp as temperatures dipped into 30s, sheriff says

A hunter lost for two days in southeastern Georgia’s Buffalo Swamp has been found alive — more than 6 miles from his intended exit point, according to Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Rescuers say the man had been missing just five hours when searches from the ground, water and air began Sunday, Dec. 18, officials said.

The search continued into Tuesday, as crews worked their way through a rugged coastal swamp that covers “bottomland hardwoods and cypress-tupelo swamps.”

It was a patrol vessel that eventually located the hunter Tuesday, “approximately 6 miles from his initial entry point on Sunday,” officials said.

Details of where he was found were not released and neither had his identity or his condition. A photo posted on Facebook shows the hunter appeared cold and dazed as he sat bundled up in the bottom of the rescue boat

“The man was returned to the boat ramp to an awaiting ambulance and taken to Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick for evaluation,” state officials said.

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office, which participated in the search, reports the hunter was a local man, and he as “well” despite being stuck outdoors with “temperatures dropping into the low 30s.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 10:14 AM with the headline "Hunter was lost 2 days in Georgia swamp as temperatures dipped into 30s, sheriff says."