Jackson, WI – A 71-year-old man from the Village of Richfield was found safe Sunday afternoon after becoming lost while pheasant hunting in the Jackson Marsh, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the man, who is a Type 1 diabetic, called his wife around 12:46 p.m. to report he was lost and feeling the effects of low blood sugar. His wife contacted authorities, prompting a multi-agency response involving Sheriff’s deputies, the Jackson Fire Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Emergency dispatchers used the What3Words mapping app and a Sheriff’s drone to locate the man, who was roughly 1,900 feet into the marsh in knee-deep water. Rescuers — including two deputies, a DNR warden, and two Jackson Fire paramedics — reached him after trekking through the terrain for about 30 minutes.
Paramedics provided glucose and helped stabilize the man before assisting him in walking out of the marsh. The entire rescue effort took more than an hour.
Sheriff Martin Schulteis praised the teamwork, saying, “This rescue highlights how collaboration, training, and technology can make all the difference when time is of the essence.”
The man declined further medical treatment and was safely reunited with his wife.
