Chula Vista
It took the efforts of the police and fire departments, the Coast Guard and paramedics to free a Chula Vista man who became trapped in waist-deep mud at the J Street Marina early Wednesday morning.
Michael Spratling, 30, told his rescuers that he had been taking a walk when he got stuck.
Capt. Terry Koeper of the Chula Vista Fire Department said rescue workers arrived at the scene about 6:30 a.m., shortly after receiving a report from a Parks and Recreation worker that a man was trapped.
To avoid becoming trapped themselves, the workers had to crawl on their hands and knees to the spot 125 yards off shore where Spratling was stuck.
“The tide was coming back in, and my guys were starting to sink,” Koeper said. “There was a little bit of urgency to get out.”
A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to assist them. Using ropes and a backboard, the workers pulled Spratling out and loaded him into a basket that had been lowered from the helicopter.
Spratling was rushed to Scripps Memorial Hospital in Chula Vista, where he was treated for hypothermia.
Koeper said Spratling had been trapped almost two hours.
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