{"id":4456,"date":"2026-06-14T18:35:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/14\/minnesota-woman-rescued-after-being-trapped-in-mud-pit-for-several-days\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T18:35:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:35:59","slug":"minnesota-woman-rescued-after-being-trapped-in-mud-pit-for-several-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4456","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota woman rescued after being trapped in mud pit for several days"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1vsw7yz\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"803b16ac-d181-4b35-8f1a-5b7554a79443\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Puddle and mud\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2c9aeb9637975c04bd27b4bc2f116ff3eacc2294\/0_0_5274_3268\/master\/5274.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"288.1342434584755\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Puddle and mud.<\/span> Photograph: Bus\u00e0 Photography\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"803b16ac-d181-4b35-8f1a-5b7554a79443\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Puddle and mud.<\/span> Photograph: Bus\u00e0 Photography\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-shrpec\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1jwoxwb\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Minnesota woman rescued after being trapped in mud pit for several days <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-m5tuef\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Two friends found Kathryn Woessner, 68, in wooded area almost entirely submerged in mud puddle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-l3z1yk\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-6d4g12\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A woman has been rescued from a mud pit in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/minnesota\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Minnesota<\/a> after becoming trapped for several days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On 6 June, two friends, Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin, were riding their all-terrain vehicles through a wooded area near Backus and Hackensack in northern Minnesota when they discovered Kathryn Woessner, 68, almost entirely submerged in a mud puddle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">According to Sandbeck and Gravalin, Woessner \u2013 who had last been seen on 3 June \u2013 told them she had been trapped in the mud for several days, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/US\/missing-woman-found-alive-after-stuck-mud-puddle\/story?id=133827275\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ABC reports. <\/a>She said her vehicle had become stuck and while attempting to get around it, she slipped and fell into a puddle about 2ft deep.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Before she was found, the Douglas county sheriff\u2019s office had already issued an endangered missing person alert for Woessner, noting that \u201cshe does not have any personal belongings with her and has medical conditions that raise concerns about her safety,\u201d the outlet added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kare11.com\/article\/news\/local\/two-men-describe-woman-trapped-in-mud-by-remote-minnesota-trail-for-three-days\/89-dfe556c5-03d0-4b78-bad1-dac218d1f932\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Speaking to<\/a> KARE11, Gravalin said the area had been flooded following a recent storm. As they drove deeper into the woods, they came across \u201cthis van in the middle of nowhere that has no real off-road capabilities to get there, but it somehow did,\u201d according to Gravalin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sandbeck recalled the moment the pair spotted Woessner, saying: \u201cWe could see that there was a body in the puddle next to the van, and then that\u2019s when it got real \u2026 When we walked up, we thought she was dead. We thought it was just a body, and then she whispered, \u2018Help me,\u2019 and it scared the crap out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAll you could see was just the round part of her face, like her mouth, her lips. You couldn\u2019t even see her ears. It was all submerged,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The two men quickly pulled Woessner from the mud. She later described the puddle as \u201clike quicksand\u201d and said she \u201ccouldn\u2019t get out\u201d of it, KARE11 reports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After rescuing her \u2013 an effort that took less than half an hour \u2013 Sandbeck and Gravalin called 911. Paramedics were dispatched to the scene, and Woessner was transported to a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Local officials say she was expected to make a full recovery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Reflecting on the ordeal, Sandbeck <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kare11.com\/article\/news\/local\/two-men-describe-woman-trapped-in-mud-by-remote-minnesota-trail-for-three-days\/89-dfe556c5-03d0-4b78-bad1-dac218d1f932\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said:<\/a> \u201cWe\u2019re just two guys that were out there riding, enjoying the day together, making fun of each other all day long like we always do, like buddies, but I have no doubt the hand of God was there guiding us there. Because that trail that we found her on, we actually drove past it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe\u2019ve driven past it for the last eight years and never went down,\u201d Gravalin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAnd it was like, let\u2019s go check that out,\u201d Sandbeck added, according to KARE11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1xavc9x\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/minnesota\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Minnesota<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Minnesota%20woman%20rescued%20after%20being%20trapped%20in%20mud%20pit%20for%20several%20days%20&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/14\/minnesota-woman-mud-pit-rescued?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F14%2Fminnesota-woman-mud-pit-rescued&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/14\/minnesota-woman-mud-pit-rescued\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1el9k3p\"><span class=\"dcr-1vetsv0\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puddle and mud. Photograph: Bus\u00e0 Photography\/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Puddle and mud. Photograph: Bus\u00e0 Photography\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}