Guss Baker, a 55-year-old St. Johns County man, disappeared into a swampy area in Flagler County last Friday.
Rescue efforts lasted throughout the weekend.
But on Monday, days after he vanished, a group of volunteers, along with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, and its FireFlight helicopter, Baker was found alive and well, deep in the Florida swamp wilderness.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, a pair of FWC officers were deep into the swamp, wading through an impenetrable thicket of marsh, branches, and swamp water, searching for Baker in a dark moonless night.
Several hours into it and not knowing if it would work, one of the FWC officers began yelling out Baker's name, announcing they had food and water and asking if he was out there.
They suddenly heard a weakened voice call out to them in the blackness.
"Yes," said the voice. It was Guss Baker.
Still, the men couldn't locate exactly where Baker was, even as he continued to speak with them. His voice would trail in and out.
One of the officers stayed in the swamp, continuing to communicate with Baker, while the other went back to get help from the others in the search party.
Soon after, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office rescue chopper, Air 1, flew over the area and spotted Baker using infrared thermal equipment to point out to the officers where he was.
Baker was found hunched over in knee-deep swamp water, sitting on a stump, weak and shivering.
Rescuers threw jackets over Baker to warm him while one officer handed him his bulletproof vest. Others brought him blankets and bottles of water as they waited for the chopper to send down its rescue hoist.
Baker was eventually hoisted from the swamp to the helicopter. He was then taken to Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast by ambulance.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
You can see photos of the rescue here.
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