A hiker who accidentally wandered off a trail in the Ocala National Forest was found by Marion County firefighters on Friday evening.
According to Marion County Fire Rescue, multiple units were dispatched to the vicinity of the Yearling Trail Head and N Forest Road 10 in the Ocala National Forest at around 5:40 p.m. on Friday, August 30, in reference to a lost hiker.
MCFR stated that a woman had called 911 and reported that she “somehow came off of the trail” while hiking.
The first MCFR unit arrived on scene at around 6 p.m. and set up a command post for the search operation. Additional firefighters soon arrived to assist with locating the lost hiker.
As MCFR crews began making their way to the last known location of the female hiker, the 911 operator instructed her to listen for a whistle used by the firefighters. In addition, she was instructed to “keep yelling” in order to help the firefighters pinpoint her location.
After nearly 45 minutes of searching, MCFR crews successfully found the hiker, and she was led back to the trail.
In a social media post on Tuesday, September 3, MCFR shared a photo of the appreciative hiker with her search crew, which was taken shortly after she was located.