By Associated Press
Tuscaloosa, AL – Sheriff's deputies were able to find four boaters stranded in the Sipsey Swamp after they built a fire that was visible from the air.
One of the boaters called 911 around 6:30 Sunday night after their boat experienced mechanical problems. But the boater could not give an exact location.
A dispatcher told them to build a fire so the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office helicopter pilot could spot them from the air.
After two hours, the boaters were discovered on the Black Warrior River south of Alabama Highway 140 in the Buhl community in west Tuscaloosa County.
Sheriff's deputies and members of the Sipsey Valley Volunteer Fire Department were able to pull the boat from the swamp with four-wheel drive vehicles.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)