Citrus: Search turns up man lost in a swamp

Search turns up man lost in a swamp

Glenn Dohle, 82, of Tampa was squirrel hunting with his son deep in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Tract.

By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer

Glenn Dohle, 82, of Tampa was squirrel hunting with his son deep in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Tract.

CHASSAHOWITZKA -- Florida swamps can be sweltering, unforgiving places crawling with alligators, rattlesnakes and fist-sized bugs. In short, not the kind of place you'd want to lose your way.

So local authorities were anxious earlier this week when they heard that an 82-year-old Tampa man who had been hunting with his son was missing in the depths of the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Tract, a dense, soupy marsh thick with mosquitoes.

But then they didn't know Glenn Dohle, who has been hunting on the 29,000-acre wildlife tract since the 1940s and knows a thing or two about wilderness survival.

Lt. Gene Newman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that Dohle and his son split up to do their squirrel hunting separately Monday morning. They planned to rendezvous at the boat landing on Ryal Creek about 1 p.m.

When his father hadn't shown up by 4:30 p.m., Ray Dohle, 52, who is also from Tampa, contacted authorities and asked local hunters to form a search party.

There was a definite sense of urgency: The elder Dohle had a heart condition that he treated with a daily dose of medicine. He took a pill Monday morning but would need another Tuesday.

Also, he had no insect repellent, which would make an extended stay in the swamp almost unbearable, Newman said.

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office sent up a helicopter to search from the sky, while tracking dogs were brought in from Gainesville, Ocala, Chiefland and Dunedin.

"It was an extensive search," Newman said. "We're talking about a very, very isolated area."

They suspended their efforts at 4 a.m. Tuesday, only to take it up again three hours later. This time, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office donated its helicopter.

At noon, two different dogs from the Florida Search Dog Association picked up a scent that indicated the elder Dohle had gone into the creek.

"That didn't look too good to us," Newman said. "Why would he have gotten into the water?"

Fish and Wildlife officers called for their amphibious plane to search the nearby waterways. Minutes later, Dohle was seen hopping from marsh to marsh along Crawford Creek, working his way toward the Chassahowitzka River.

Aside from being bone-tired, Dohle was in good condition, Newman said. Attempts to reach the Dohles were unsuccessful on Wednesday.

Glenn Dohle had used a few survival tactics to stay alert, including digging a shallow well in the dirt and using a reed as a straw to draw moisture from the earth.

"It was a real MacGyver-type deal," Newman said.

Newman said Dohle was carrying a compass and isn't sure how the older man became lost. But he's relieved the scramble to find the wayward hunter had a happy ending.

"It was about as successful as a search can possibly be," Newman said.