By Chad Love

Bird hunters and parents know all about the dangers old, abandoned wells pose to curious dogs and children, but it's not just kids and dogs that need to watch out for wells. One wrong step or one bad decision and we could find ourselves trapped in a very bad place. That's what happened to one Florida rabbit hunter when he stepped on a plywood well cover and ended up in twelve feet of water.

From this story in the New York Daily News:
One wrong step turned a stroll through familiar territory into a nightmare. Christopher Johnson, 28, fell though plywood to the bottom of a deep well while rabbit hunting early Saturday morning. His screams went unheard for more than eight hours as he managed to keep his head above water in at least 12 feet of cold, dirty water. He thought he would never escape as his stamina slowly faded.

According to the story, Johnson fell into the well about 1:30 a.m. and spent the next eight hours treading water and screaming for help. His cries were finally heard by a walker the next morning. Rescuers lowered a ladder and Johnson climbed out of the well on his own. According to Johnson, he simply didn't see the hole in the dark.

From the story: "I've been hunting around here my whole life. I've never seen that hole. It used to have a concrete over it. I didn't see it," Johnson said. "I thought I was dreaming. I thought it was a nightmare. There was no way out."

I don't know what anyone would be doing rabbit hunting at 1:30 in the morning, but still, that's some scary stuff. Anyone ever have a bad encounter with an abandoned well?

Comments (8)

from Alex Grimaudo wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I honestly don't think I would have been able to keep my head above the water for 8 hours. Last season I fell into a frozen creek and nearly drowned because of the weight of two pairs of pants and nearly two jackets and a winter coat. I couldn't even scream for help it was so cold. Eventually I made my way out of the water and stumbled home to take a HOT shower.

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from RockySquirrel wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

That is just plain scary. I hunt alone and wife is often out of town on business or seeing one of the kids or her sisters or mother. There is no one to come and get my old geezer butt if that happened to me.

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from DSMbirddog wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

Why was he out walking at 1:30 AM? Damn scary, Rocky! I don't know if I could have done it.

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from Jerry A. wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I'd be curious to find out what type of gun he had with him. Sounds to me like he was doing something shady, possibly trying to poach deer or something.

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from Nathan Ryver wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I was mowing grass at my house one day and fell through the plain ground into a old cess pit. Apparently, it was covered up with a piece of concrete, that had been grown over with grass, then the concrete disintigrated, leaving only a matt of soil and grass overtop. It had been a wet spring, and as I was mowing, I suddenly was waste deep in the ground, looking at the grass discharge cover. It was an old piece of clay tile-pipe that a trailer on the property probably 40 years earlier used as a septic tank. We had no idea it was there. I'd say there are more on that land somewhere...the house was over 100 years old.

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from Half-of-two wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I'd have to agree with Jerry. Rabbit hunting at 1:30 am? Something doesn't quite add up.

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from small game sportsman wrote 33 weeks 2 days ago

he's lucky he didn't have a whole lot of heavy gear on him.

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from Clay Cooper wrote 33 weeks 1 day ago

south of Alamogordo New Mexico is full of vertical mine shafts

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from Jerry A. wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I'd be curious to find out what type of gun he had with him. Sounds to me like he was doing something shady, possibly trying to poach deer or something.

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from Alex Grimaudo wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I honestly don't think I would have been able to keep my head above the water for 8 hours. Last season I fell into a frozen creek and nearly drowned because of the weight of two pairs of pants and nearly two jackets and a winter coat. I couldn't even scream for help it was so cold. Eventually I made my way out of the water and stumbled home to take a HOT shower.

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from RockySquirrel wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

That is just plain scary. I hunt alone and wife is often out of town on business or seeing one of the kids or her sisters or mother. There is no one to come and get my old geezer butt if that happened to me.

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from DSMbirddog wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

Why was he out walking at 1:30 AM? Damn scary, Rocky! I don't know if I could have done it.

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from Nathan Ryver wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I was mowing grass at my house one day and fell through the plain ground into a old cess pit. Apparently, it was covered up with a piece of concrete, that had been grown over with grass, then the concrete disintigrated, leaving only a matt of soil and grass overtop. It had been a wet spring, and as I was mowing, I suddenly was waste deep in the ground, looking at the grass discharge cover. It was an old piece of clay tile-pipe that a trailer on the property probably 40 years earlier used as a septic tank. We had no idea it was there. I'd say there are more on that land somewhere...the house was over 100 years old.

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from Half-of-two wrote 33 weeks 3 days ago

I'd have to agree with Jerry. Rabbit hunting at 1:30 am? Something doesn't quite add up.

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from small game sportsman wrote 33 weeks 2 days ago

he's lucky he didn't have a whole lot of heavy gear on him.

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from Clay Cooper wrote 33 weeks 1 day ago

south of Alamogordo New Mexico is full of vertical mine shafts

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.