Stuck in the Mud

ORLANDO, Fla. — A missing runner was rescued from a Florida swamp after spending four days stuck in the muck with only the waist-deep water to drink.

Eddie Meadows, 62, had left for a run over his lunch hour Thursday but never returned to his office at a nearby University of Central Florida research park, authorities said.

He was spotted among the brush and trees Monday morning as friends and colleagues searched for him.

Meadows was parched and covered with bug bites and had consumed swamp water to stay hydrated during the four day ordeal, said university police Sgt. Woody Furnas. Furnas said the area has thick silt and muck that can act like glue.

"He had great spirits, and he was very adamant about getting a drink of water," Furnas said. "He said he slept a lot and stayed down in the water.

Furnas described Meadows, a contract employee with the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, as "a strong guy. He's in good shape. He's a marathoner."