Woman missing for three days found alive after hikers spot 'body' in quicksand puddle

A missing woman was found alive after spending three days trapped in mud with only part of her face visible above the surface. The 68-year-old Minnesota woman was discovered almost completely submerged in what she described as a “quicksand” puddle after two off-road riders spotted what they initially believed was a body lying next to a stranded van.

Kathryn Jane Woessner, from Alexandria, Minnesota, US, had been missing for three days before she was found in a remote area near Backus, around 80 miles from her home. Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin were riding along trails near Backus and Hackensack on Saturday when they came across Woessner’s van stuck in a muddy section of ground.

Curious about the abandoned vehicle, the pair got closer and noticed what appeared to be a body in a puddle nearby.

Speaking to local broadcaster KARE, Mr Sandbeck recalled the shocking moment they realised the woman was still alive.

“And then she whispered, ‘Help me,’ and it scared the crap out of me,” he said.

The men said Woessner was almost entirely submerged in the mud, with only her mouth and part of her face exposed above the surface.

Mr Sandbeck told the station that all he could see was “the round part of her face, like her mouth, her lips”.

The pair immediately rushed to pull her from the mud before calling emergency services.

According to Mr Sandbeck, Woessner later explained that she had fallen into the puddle and become trapped in conditions she compared to quicksand, leaving her unable to escape.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Woessner had last been seen on June 3 and had been reported missing before her remarkable rescue.

After being freed from the mud, she was taken to hospital for treatment.

Authorities have not released further details about how she became stranded or how she managed to survive for three days while trapped in the remote area.

The extraordinary rescue has since drawn widespread attention, with many hailing the quick-thinking actions of the two men who stumbled upon the scene by chance.

Without their intervention, the outcome could have been very different.