Workers from numerous agencies rescued a man who’d last been in contact with family or friends Feb. 14 and was found submerged to his shoulders in quicksand in Melrose.
After rescue efforts that involved ropes, backboards, pallets and ladders, Andrew Giddens, 36, was freed from “the muck” around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and taken by air ambulance to a trauma center to be treated for critical injuries, according to a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.
Giddens was found in a borrow pit, an excavated area where soil, sand, gravel or clay is dug, at Vulcan Materials Co., 1451 State Road 100 in Melrose, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office issued a missing person’s report for Giddens on Monday after Deputy Derrick Holmes found the Jacksonville resident’s abandoned vehicle near the area of Paran Church Road and State Road 100 near Melrose, according to the Facebook post.
Holmes, who had previous experience with Giddens trespassing on a different Vulcan site in 2023, contacted officials at the company to see if anything at the Melrose site had been disturbed or was missing, authorities reported. Sheriff’s office officials said Holmes also requested his agency’s aviation unit to search for Giddens, but they could not detect him from the air.
Holmes contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to ask their deputies to conduct a welfare check at Giddens’ home, local authorities said. Giddens’ family and friends informed Holmes that the last known contact with Giddens, whom they said was depressed because of a recent breakup, was with his father on Valentine’s Day, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Wednesday, authorities said, Vulcan employees found Giddens at the Melrose site, but because of the instability of the ground, they couldn’t get close to Giddens. Quicksand, which is loose granular material that’s heavily saturated with water, is not uncommon at borrow pits.
“Vulcan employees continued to monitor for signs of Giddens on their expansive property, when he was located shoulder deep in mud close to a borrow pit,” sheriff’s office officials said on Facebook. “Giddens was able to talk to the employee who was unable to reach him due to the unstable nature of the ground surrounding Giddens.”
Officials from Putnam County Fire Rescue, the Palatka Fire Department, the Melrose Fire Department and Clay County Fire Rescue collaborated in the two-and-a-half-hour effort to rescue Giddens, the sheriff’s office stated.
A complex setup involving ladders, pallets, ropes and backboards was needed to dig out Jacksonville resident Andrew Giddens from quicksand at a Melrose borrow pit Wednesday night. (Photo submitted by Allison Waters-Merritt)
Officials first tried to drag Giddens out using ropes, but rescuers later had to use ladders and other supplies to get him out in a safe manner. Because the ground was unstable, authorities reported, rescuers had to move slowly so they also wouldn’t sink and had to walk along ladders, backboards and pallets that were placed on the ground to provide a safe working space.
The sheriff’s office said no charges were being filed against Giddens due to his mental health, but the agency wished him well in his physical and mental recovery.
In its Facebook post, the sheriff’s office encouraged people experiencing troubling times to call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and they advised family members and friends to keep in contact with their loved ones who are having a hard time.
“We also want to encourage others that feel like there is no hope, that resources are available by calling 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline,” sheriff’s office officials said on Facebook. “We also ask family members and friends to continue to check on loved ones, especially during times of high stress and anxiety.”
A complex setup involving ladders, pallets, ropes and backboards was needed to dig out Jacksonville resident Andrew Giddens from quicksand at a Melrose borrow pit Wednesday night. (Photo submitted by Allison Waters-Merritt)