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Carroll County pastor’s harrowing 3-hour rescue from ravine

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Published  November 8, 2024 5:55pm EST
Carroll County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Harrowing rescue of Carroll County pastor

A Franklin pastor thought he was taking a shortcut, but ended up stuck in a ravine for three hours. His dramatic rescue.

The Brief

    • A Carroll County man, specifically a Franklin church pastor, got stranded in a ravine near Highway 61 for over three hours on Election Night 2024.
    • The man, Alicea, was attempting to find a shortcut to an auto shop via his cell phone's GPS when he became lost in difficult terrain and lost his mobility due to briar patches and thorns.
    • Despite initial difficulty, Villa Rica police located Alicea after his phone's dying battery allowed for a critical GPS ping, leading rescuers to him, approximately three football fields away from the road.
    • Alicea expressed profound gratitude towards the Villa Rica Police, Carroll County Fire, and the 911 operator who stayed on the line with him until he was found, likening his rescuers to an incredible SEAL team.
    • The rescue, facilitated by the coordinated effort of multiple emergency services, was deemed somewhat miraculous by the responders involved, highlighting a single instance of exceptional community service.

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. - Election night 2024 will be unforgettable for one Carroll County man.

The pastor of a Franklin church got stuck in a deep ravine in Villa Rica just off Highway 61 near South Carroll Road for more than three hours.

"There are not even words in this world to describe the debt of gratitude that I have for Villa Rica Police and Carroll (County) Fire," said Alicea.

Alicea walked down the busy highway between Villa Rica and Carrollton on his way to an auto shop. On his way to his destination, he checked the GPS on his cellular phone and spotted what he thought was a shortcut. The rough area off the road led him to nowhere. He stumbled through kudzu and more until he was thoroughly lost in the dark of night.

"I couldn't walk no more, (I) fell on so many briar patches and thorns, losing my coordination," recalled the 60-year-old. "’Oh, God,’ I said, ‘this going to be my final resting place.’"

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This image provided by Villa Rica Police Department shows rescue workers pulling a Franklin pastor from a ravine just off Highway 61 near South Carroll Road on Nov. 5, 2024.

911 helped navigate Villa Rica police officers to the scene, who, at first, struggled to find him. Until his dying phone came through in the clutch.

"We had officers go the location that was pinged and actually hear him," said officer Zachary Anderson.

Rescuers believe Alicea was about three football fields off the road.

"The fact that I heard him is nothing short of a miracle," said Corporal Mark Bishop.

Alicea not only credits police and fire, but Carroll County 911, too.

"I was on the phone with a lady, and she stayed on the phone with me the whole time until they found me," remembered Alicea. "They were some type of SEAL team or something, they were incredible."

The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta spoke with the pastor and rescuers for this story.