ME: Maine hunter rescued after getting stuck in ‘quicksand’-like mud up to his waist

https://abcnews.go.com/US/maine-hunter-rescued-after-stuck-quicksand-mud-waist/story?id=126169988

10/02/2025

A man who was duck hunting in coastal Maine had to be rescued by police after getting stuck in quicksand-like mud that reached up to his waist before help arrived, local authorities said.

It happened Wednesday afternoon near Wharton’s Point on Maquoit Bay in southern Maine, according to a news release from the Brunswick Police Department.

The 31-year-old hunter, who had been standing on an embankment over the area’s mud flats, “started walking across the mud to retrieve the ducks when he suddenly sank,” Brunswick Police said in a news release. “He was unable to move and the more he struggled, the deeper he became.”

The man was able to call 911 and officers arrived in a police boat to rescue him, according to the release.

The department said it took two officers to “pull and break the suction” in order to free the hunter, who was taken to the hospital due to the amount of time he was exposed to the ocean water.

Local police warned residents that mud flats along the coast are very unstable and often contain “honey pots” — pockets of quicksand-like mud “which cannot be seen until too late.”

“The more a person moves, the deeper they become,” police said in the news release.

In addition to rescuing the hunter, police said they also retrieved the ducks the man had shot before he became enmired.