Man fell down 50-foot well while searching for lost phone, officials say

Published: Jul. 27, 2024 at 2:57 AM EDT
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AUSTELL, Ga. (Atlanta News First/Gray News) - A 50-year-old man was rescued Friday morning after being trapped in a well in Georgia for several hours overnight.

A Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services heavy rescue team responded to the 7000 block of Hartman Road in Austell on Friday at around 4:45 a.m.

Officials said 911 dispatchers initially received a call about a man trapped in a well at that location.

“Cobb Police Department got a call sometime after 10 p.m. from the man’s son who was concerned because they hadn’t heard from him in a while and couldn’t reach him. They knew he was in the woods looking for his phone and drove by and saw his vehicle there, but they couldn’t find him,” Cobb County public information office Lt. Steve Bennett said.

Bennett said the man was in the woods with his phone on Thursday, but lost it and returned later to look for the device.

While he was searching, the phone pinged in the wooded area.

Police in Cobb County later found the man after they heard his phone ringing.

“They began calling for him, and then one of the officers thought he heard something and went and found the gentleman had fallen into about a 50-foot well that was in the woods,” Bennett said.

Rescue crews were able to lower a squad team member into the well to pull the victim out.

The man was then put on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

The extent of the man’s injuries is not known at this time, but he was alert when initially rescued.

Cobb County officials believe the man was trapped in the well for about eight hours. They posted a video of the rescue on social media.