MADISON, Fla. -- A hiker from West Palm Beach is on dry land thanks to a rescue by the Madison County Sheriff's Office River Patrol.
The department received the call on Tuesday, March 5, just before 11 a.m. The Sheriff's Office Communications Center was tranferred a 911 call from Suwannee County from a man who said he was trapped and stranded in the river.
The man didn't know where he was, but said he was somewhere between the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers. He told deputies he'd been hiking the Florida Trail and had been trapped by rising waters since the night before.
The Sheriff's Office Communications Center used technology to track the man's cell phone signal. River Patrol units were dispatched to help the man, now identified as 30-year-old Steven Eller.
Due to the fact that he was in a heavily flooded, wooded area, patrol deputies couldn't find Eller at first -- even though he was shouting for help. Even when they found him, surrounding debris kept them from getting as close as they needed. Deputies had to use a canoe from the State Park to rescue Eller.
Eller was treated on scene by Suwannee County EMS and transported to Shands of Live Oak, Fl. He is a West Palm Beach resident.
