Stuck in Florida wetlands, woman is rescued by helicopter

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say they were able to rescue a woman by helicopter after she was stuck in the vast marshland of a Florida state park.

Various agencies were deployed to the 11,000-acre (4,450-hectare) Estero Bay Preserve State Park on the Gulf Coast south of Fort Myers.

The Iona McGregor Fire District says the woman was out hiking with her husband Friday, but the man had gotten tired and had decided to return while she kept going and got lost.

After hours of searching, the woman was found in one of the deepest, marshiest areas of the preserve. She was overall well but had to be taken out by helicopter and to be checked at a local hospital.

State authorities caution that the trails along coastal marshes in the preserve are rugged and seasonally flooded.