Florida man who went missing on Feb. 14 rescued after being stuck in 'quick sand' mud for days

Nbcwashington · Feb 27, 2026 · 460 words · By Patrick Smith; NBC News

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What to know about Florida man who went missing on Feb. 14 rescued after being stuck in 'quick sand' mud for days

A Florida man who went missing on Valentine's Day was rescued on Thursday after being stuck to his shoulders in mud described as "quick sand" without food or water for several days.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A Florida man who went missing on Valentine's Day was rescued on Thursday after being stuck to his shoulders in mud described as "quick sand" without food or water for several days.

Why it matters

Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Andrew Giddens, a 36-year-old from Jacksonville, was rescued from a Vulcan Materials Company site east of Melrose.

Common ground

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Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Florida man who went missing on Feb. 14 rescued after being stuck in 'quick sand' mud for days?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that After more than two hours, he was finally freed at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/florida-man-missing-va…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 1

schedule Pending 1

info

Claim 1: “After more than two hours, he was finally freed at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim index contains irrelevant results about Prince Andrew. However, other evidence in the set mentions a rescue on Thursday, but the specific time of 8:30 p.m. ET is not corroborated across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor (born 19 February 1960), formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edi…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Mountbatten-Windsor

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web search NEUTRAL — Explore our extensive portfolio of innovative network infrastructure solutions designed to elevate connectivity. From cutting-edge antennas to robust cable systems, our products are created to meet yo…
https://www.andrew.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · Former Prince Andrew was reportedly left "shaken" after a masked man confronted him near his Norfolk home, sparking renewed royal security concerns.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/former-prince-andrew-s…

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Claim 2: “Putnam County Fire Rescue, Palatka Fire Department, Melrose Fire Department and Clay County Fire Rescue all assisted in the rescue.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources list Putnam County Fire Rescue, Palatka Fire Department, Melrose Fire Department, and Clay County Fire Rescue as participants in the rescue.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Image credits: Palatka Fire Department. After the rescue, officials stated that Andrew was flown to a trauma center in critical condition but is expected to recover.Rescue team working at night to fre…
https://www.boredpanda.com/florida-man-andrew-giddens-vanish…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Palatka Fire Department and Clay County Fire Rescue's Technical Rescue Teams, with support from Putnam County Fire Rescue and Melrose Fire Department all responded to the rescue mission.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/news/florida-man-rescued-afte…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A Putnam County fire department was first on scene and began working to stabilize Giddens before Melrose Fire Rescue crews arrived to assist. Officials later requested additional equipment from Clay C…
https://www.wcjb.com/2026/02/27/melrose-fire-chief-details-r…

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Claim 3: “the man... was flown to a trauma center by air ambulance in a critical condition”

CORROBORATED

Bored Panda and other reports confirm he was flown to a trauma center in critical condition.

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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Ex-Prince Andrew Reportedly Snubbed, Left Off the Guest List of Upcoming Royal Wedding Amid Scandal Many other members of the royal family are expected to attend the nuptials.
https://www.instyle.com/ex-prince-andrew-snubbed-not-invited…

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Claim 4: “A Florida man who went missing on Valentine's Day was rescued on Thursday after being stuck to his shoulders in mud described as "quick sand" without food or water for several days.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm a Florida man went missing on Valentine's Day and was rescued on a Thursday after being stuck up to his shoulders in mud described as 'quick sand' without food or water.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A Florida man who went missing on Valentine's Day was rescued on Thursday after being stuck to his shoulders in mud described as "quick sand" without food or water for several days.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/flori…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — (Gray News) - Florida first responders are being credited for their work in rescuing a missing man who was stuck in mud for several days without food or water. According to the Palatka Fire Department…
https://www.kptv.com/2026/02/28/missing-man-found-alive-resc…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A Florida man who went missing earlier in February was rescued on Thursday after becoming stuck up to his shoulders in quicksand-like mud.Rescue staff work to remove a Florida man who became stuck in …
https://globalnews.ca/news/11709846/florida-man-rescue-stuck…

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Claim 5: “Giddens had not been seen by his family since Feb. 14 and was the subject of a missing persons report.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Bored Panda and The Guardian, confirm Giddens was reported missing after not being seen by family since February 14.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Innocents is a 1961 gothic psychological horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton, and starring Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave, and Megs Jenkins. Based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innocents_(1961_film)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15, of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Foxes

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by synthesising a combination of economically liberal and social democrati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 6: “A spokesperson for Vulcan said: "Our Vulcan team at the Grandin Sand Plant handled a trespassing situation"”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “Deputies found Giddens’ car abandoned on Feb. 23”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the date the car was found abandoned.

help

Claim 8: “had previously found him trespassing on a different Vulcan Materials Company in 2023.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a previous trespassing incident in 2023.

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Claim 9: “Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Andrew Giddens, a 36-year-old from Jacksonville, was rescued from a Vulcan Materials Company site east of Melrose.”

CORROBORATED

Web results identify the man as 36-year-old Andrew Giddens from Jacksonville, rescued from a Vulcan Materials site. While some search results for 'Andrew' were irrelevant (Prince Andrew), the specific news reports on the rescue corroborate the identity and location.

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Claim 10: “deputies found Giddens on Thursday "covered to his shoulders in the mud and had sunk below the level of the grass surrounding the borrow pit"”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm deputies found him on Thursday covered to his shoulders in mud and sunk below the grass level of a borrow pit.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist, and writer who has served as prime minister of Albania since 2013 and as chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edi_Rama

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General Hospital is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC since April 1, 1963. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, it was originally set in a general hospital (hence the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_General_Hospital_chara…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nashville is an American musical drama television series created by Callie Khouri, who also served as an executive producer of the series along with Steve Buchanan. Other executive producers included …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_(2012_TV_series)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “The Palatka Fire Department said on Facebook that Giddens "had been stuck in mud for several days without food or water, while the area faced freezing temperatures."”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources attribute the statement to the Palatka Fire Department, confirming he was stuck for several days without food or water during freezing temperatures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is one of the nation's largest full-service public safety agencies with over 5,400 employees, including nearly 3,400 sworn law enforcement officers, detention…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broward_County_Sheriff's_Offic…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Miami Police Department (MPD), also known as the City of Miami Police Department, is a full-service municipal law enforcement agency serving the city of Miami, Florida, United States. MPD is the l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Police_Department

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Historic Public Market, historically known as the Old Slave Market, Old Spanish Market or Public Market is a historic open-air market building in St. Augustine, Florida in the United States. In th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Slave_Market,_St._Augustin…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.