A woman who was reported missing from Stoughton was rescued after she was found stuck in the mud at a Massachusetts state park in Easton, where she'd been trapped for several days, police said Monday.
Stoughton police had been looking for the woman for about a week and put out a call for help to the public. On Monday they announced that hikers in Borderland State Park had found her, but she was stuck in the mud and they could not reach her.
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Easton police used ATVs to reach her. Stoughton police said she had been stuck in the mud for days, but she was conscious and alert when they arrived.
"This is the best possible outcome," Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said in a statement.
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The hikers heard a woman's screams for help from a swampy area and called 911, officials said. Easton police who arrived at the scene in ATVs saw the missing woman but couldn't see her, so they waded into the swampy water.
They found her about 50 feet from shore and carried her back to land, where firefighters, who'd also come in ATVs, provided her with first aid and took her to Brockton's Good Samaritan Hospital.
Officials believe she'd been trapped there for at least three days. She had serious injuries but is expected to recover.
"I'd like to commend our Easton officers, who blindly jumped into the water and followed the woman's calls for help," Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said in a statement. "Their immediate action resulted in saving" the woman.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the searches, including by sharing drones and boats, police said.
Borderland State Park, near Stoughton, covers over 1,800 acres, including about 330 acres of wetlands, according to a state fact sheet.
The woman was identified during the search; police had cited "a history of mental health challenges" as they asked for help finding her, and Stoughton's police chief said they were concerned she may not have taken her medications for days.
She may have been spotted Saturday, prompting first responders to focus on an area in Stoughton.
