EASTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Days after rescuing a woman who hadn’t been seen for days in a state park, first responders in Easton shared new details on how they made the rescue.
The effort included three Easton police officers, who responded to Borderland State Park on Monday to find and rescue Emma Tetewsky, 31, who had been last seen by her family on June 25.
Those who were called in that day said they were able to pull her to safety from a muddy swamp area.
“We were about knee-deep in mud when we saw her lying there,” said Officer Corey McLaughlin. “She assumed essentially a fetal position when we arrived there. Whether it was due to exhaustion, she did eventually end up on her side.”
The Easton Police Department was first alerted to Tetewsky after some hikers heard a woman yelling for help. When police arrived, they had to make their way through thick, overgrown brush to get her.
“I think all of us at one point fell in pretty deep,” said Officer Jason Wheeler. “I fell in and could hardly get up.”
Speaking during a news conference on Wednesday, the officers said they tried to pick her up, but found themselves sinking deeper into the mud. So, they formed a line and pulled the woman out.
“She just looked very dehydrated,” Wheeler explained. “When you’ve been in the water a long time, you get pruney. She looked like she’d been in the water for a long period of time.”
The rescue effort continued with Easton firefighters, who met the officers and Emma on shore and carried her in a rescue basket down a short trail.
“We were fortunate enough it was kind of on a walking path, so the terrain wasn’t that bad – there were roots and rocks and stuff,” Firefighter Tony Ioannidis said.
Emma was later moved from the basket to a utility terrain vehicle and then to an ambulance.
Stoughton police later said in a tweet that Tetewsky “was conscious and alert” when she was rescued and hospitalized.
“This was the outcome we hoped for and ultimately, this is a great story everyone – that she is safe and she was rescued,” said Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara.
McNamara said she talked to Tetewsky’s father and said the whole family is relived that she was found.
Tetewsky was in the hospital as of Wednesday with some injuries, though she is expected to be okay.
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