THONOTOSASSA, Fla. — An avid hiker exploring portions of the Flatwoods Wilderness Park in Thonotosassa is safe after getting lost Sunday night on an unfamiliar trail.
Libia Marsack said she spent the first two hours hiking without incident and just before leaving, she found a new trail which she thought she could quickly finish.
“Surely within an hour,” Marsack said. “I figured it was just a small little loop they had there, so I decided to explore that last little trail before I leave and that’s when things started getting bad for me because the trail ended up being much longer than I expected.”
By the time Marsack realized she was lost, it was already dark. She continued heading toward what she thought would be the trail's exit but ended up on a dirt access road deep within the park.
“I was concerned,” said Marsack, who started phoning family members. But after realizing her phone was running out of power, she quickly decided to dial 911.
“The operator was very helpful,” Marsack said. It was about 10 minutes into their conversation she said she heard the chopper.
Marsack says she used the tiny flashlight on her cellphone to flag down a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office helicopter sent in to search. But even with the exact coordinates, sheriff’s office ground crews were unable to reach Marsack’s location.
It took a park ranger on an ATV to reach her location.
“It was a one-seater, so it was an interesting ride,” said Marsack, laughing. “We had to share the one seat, him and I.”
Park rangers brought Marsack out to waiting deputies who were able to drive her back to her car in the park’s parking lot.
She says she will forever be grateful to the first responders who came to her rescue.
“It’s not just a job," she said. "It is a sacrifice because they are taking time away from their families, away from their work schedules to receive a phone call at night.”
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