Trapped Wauconda woman rescued from muddy creek

August 21, 2012 (WAUCONDA, Ill.) (WLS) -- A Wauconda woman was rescued after she got stuck in mud while trying to clear a beaver dam.

Jean Chin was in a marshy area near her home Monday night when she sank in the mud up to her shoulders. She lives right next to the creek which his next to a busy street so it took quite a while before anyone heard her as she cried for help.

"You are trying to get out and you cannot," Chin told ABC7. "I got myself into quite a fix."

Chin thought she would be on solid ground, but instead she started to sink and quickly found herself stuck.

"I figured I could not get back," she said.

Chin was trying to clear the beaver dam that appeared to be blocking the flow. She managed to clear some of the branches and was about to call it a night.

After calling for help for nearly two hours, a neighbor heard her and called the police. It took a total of 17 firefighters about 45 minutes to pull her out. They created a solid space to work from and were careful to avoid falling in themselves.

"If she stayed out there during the night, it could have been worse. She could have sunk a little more," said Batt. Chief Kevin Pyne, Wauconda Fire Department. "We basically had to dig her out by hand."

Pyne compared the mud to quicksand.

Chin was transported to the hospital to be checked out but was released.

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local, john garcia

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