Released bodycam footage shows the tense and unusual rescue of missing Florida man Andrew Giddens, who was found alive after spending days trapped in mud near a sand and gravel excavation facility in Putnam County.
The YouTube channel EWU Bodycam reported that Giddens’ disappearance began with an abandoned car found near a Vulcan Materials facility, then turned into a multi-agency rescue after workers later discovered him stuck deep in mud near a borrow pit. According to the channel’s host, the case unfolded from official police records and body camera footage, much of which had not been seen publicly before the video was released.
The footage shows deputies, firefighters, and workers trying to understand how Giddens got there, how long he had been trapped, and how they could reach him without getting stuck themselves.
“He looks in bad condition,” one caller told dispatch after finding Giddens. “Yeah, he don’t look good.”
An Abandoned Car Starts The Search
According to EWU Bodycam’s host, the case began on February 23, 2026, when a woman called the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to report an abandoned white Ford Fusion near Pan Church Road in Melrose, Florida.
The car had been found near a Vulcan Materials gravel and sand excavation facility, and the responding deputy soon realized the registered owner had a history with a similar property. The host identified the vehicle owner as Andrew Giddens, who had been arrested in 2023 for criminal mischief and trespassing at another Vulcan Materials processing facility.
In the bodycam footage, a company manager told the deputy that the prior incident had been strange, involving chains, weights, and odd behavior on the property.
“It was weird, man,” the manager said. “He had chains and weights and just like, are you killing somebody and burying them back here? Like, what are you doing?”
The channel’s host said Giddens had pleaded no contest in that earlier case, received 12 months of probation, and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. That history made the abandoned car more concerning, especially once deputies noticed mud inside the vehicle and signs that someone may have gone onto the property.
A Dangerous Place To Disappear
The Vulcan property was surrounded by fencing, which the host explained was there not only for security, but also for public safety.
The bodycam footage shows deputies and workers looking near the fence line, trying to determine whether Giddens had entered the property again. One person warned that the mud on the property could be deadly if someone got into the wrong area.
“If he hits that tail of mud over there, like, he’s done for,” one man said in the footage. “He ain’t coming out.”
That warning would later prove painfully close to what had happened.
An aerial search was conducted, but it did not find Giddens. Soon after, deputies learned from Giddens’ father that his son had not been seen since February 14, which meant his disappearance had stretched on for more than a week.
The sheriff’s office entered him as a missing person. Still, the search did not break open until two days later, when the Vulcan Materials manager called 911 with a shocking update.
“He’s Alive. He’s Down In The Mud.”
The manager told dispatch that the missing man was on the property, alive, but stuck in mud at the sand plant.
“He’s on site right here,” the manager said. “He’s alive. He’s down in the mud.”
The dispatcher asked whether Giddens was trapped in something like quicksand. The manager said he was stuck in mud and responding, but he also made clear that getting to him would not be simple.
“He’s looking at me. He’s talking,” the manager said.
The manager then became a go-between for Giddens and the dispatcher, asking him questions from a distance because the mud was too dangerous to cross. He estimated Giddens was roughly 50 to 100 feet from solid ground and said he was going back to his truck to get water.
When he tried to help, the manager warned Giddens that he could not safely reach him.
“Hey, man. I can’t get out there to you,” he said. “I can’t get to you. Here’s your water.”
According to the footage, Giddens was buried up to around his shoulders, with mud caked over him so heavily that the manager said it looked baked on. The dispatcher told the manager to ask Giddens not to move if he was not actively sinking, so he would not make the situation worse before rescuers arrived.
First Responders Struggle Through The Mud
EWU Bodycam reported that officials from Putnam County Fire Rescue, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies joined the rescue effort.
The footage shows responders trying to navigate the unstable ground, with some of them sinking into the mud just trying to reach the area. One responder joked about being glad he brought extra uniforms after getting covered.
“I understand why people get stuck out here,” someone said in the footage. “It is all up my pants.”
That line almost sounds funny in the moment, but the scene itself was serious. If trained responders were struggling to move through the mud with help nearby, it is easy to understand why Giddens could not escape on his own.
The host explained that the muddy ground leading to the pit was unstable, but the area where Giddens was trapped was even worse. Rescuers had to be careful because anyone who got too close risked becoming another person who needed saving.
One responder said there was no easy way to get a grip on Giddens without ending up in the mud with him.
The rescue effort required ladders, ropes, and careful coordination, and the footage captured moments of frustration as crews tried to communicate over radio traffic while working in difficult conditions.
A Chain And A 100-Pound Weight
As rescuers worked to free him, they discovered something that made the situation even more disturbing.
According to the bodycam footage and EWU Bodycam’s host, Giddens appeared to have a chain and a heavy weight attached to his leg. The host later said the police report noted that fire rescue authorities found a 100-pound kettlebell chained to him.
“He’s apparently got a chain and a cement box or cement block wrapped around his ankle,” one person said in the footage.
Another responder reacted with disbelief: “What?”
The discovery raised immediate questions about how Giddens ended up there and whether anyone else had been involved. The host said Giddens told first responders that he had been chained and left there by a man named John, whom he said he met online, but the reports released so far did not mention a follow-up investigation into that claim.
That is one of the strangest parts of the case. Giddens was found alive, but the circumstances around how he became trapped were murky, troubling, and not fully explained in the footage.
Pulled From The Pit After Hours Of Work
After more than two hours of effort, Giddens was finally pulled from the mud.
EWU Bodycam’s host said the police report described him as fully covered in mud and without clothing when rescuers got him out. The footage shows responders asking for bolt cutters and working to remove what had been attached to him.
“Got a nice coat of peanut butter on them,” one responder said after handling muddy equipment.
The line showed some of the dark, exhausted humor that often appears in rescue scenes, but the situation remained grave. Giddens had reportedly gone days without proper food or water and had been exposed to harsh conditions while trapped in mud.
According to the channel’s host, Giddens’ family told officials he had recently gone through a breakup and had been depressed.
A Facebook post from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said Giddens was flown to a trauma center in critical condition, the host reported. The post also said no charges were being considered at the time because of his mental health.
A Rescue That Raises Hard Questions
The bodycam footage is difficult to watch because it shows both a miracle and a mystery.
Giddens was missing for days, his car was found abandoned, and the property where he ended up was dangerous enough that workers had already warned deputies about the mud. Yet he was eventually found alive, able to speak, and close enough for a worker to get him water while waiting for rescue crews.
At the same time, the details surrounding the chain, the heavy weight, and the claim about a man named John leave the case feeling unresolved. The footage shows the rescue, but it does not fully explain the path that led Giddens into that pit.
What is clear is that the Vulcan Materials worker who kept looking, the caller who stayed with dispatch, and the first responders who worked through the unstable mud all played a role in saving his life.
The story also shows how quickly a missing person case can shift from routine to extraordinary. What began as a report of an abandoned car became a search involving deputies, an excavation facility, aerial efforts, family concerns, and finally a rescue from mud deep enough to trap a grown man for days.
EWU Bodycam’s host framed the case as one of the strangest public safety operations released on bodycam, and the footage supports that description. It was not a simple rescue from a trail or a roadside ditch, but a slow and dangerous extraction from a place where one wrong step could have trapped someone else.
Giddens was eventually flown for medical care in critical condition, and officials said no charges were being considered at that time. The bodycam footage leaves viewers with a rare look at how complicated a rescue can become when the person being saved is alive, barely reachable, and surrounded by more questions than answers.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
