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Woman rescued from Florida storm drain, where she says she was stuck for 3 weeks

Victim says she entered drain after swimming in canal
woman rescued from storm drain.jpeg
Posted at 1:28 PM, Mar 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-24 16:28:39-04

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A naked woman who was rescued Tuesday from a Florida storm drain told officials she had been trapped there for three weeks.

Fire rescue crews in Delray Beach were called to the intersection of West Atlantic Avenue and Southwest 11th Avenue just before 9 a.m. after a report of a woman stuck in the drain.

Police identified the woman as Lyndsey Jane Kennedy, 43, of Delray Beach, who they learned had been reported missing by her boyfriend on March 3.

911 caller finds naked woman in Delray Beach storm drain

A witness told police they were parked on the corner of the street and heard Kennedy yelling for help while stuck in the drain. Once the witness saw the woman, she then called the police.

Crews were able to extract Kennedy from the drain and transported her to Delray Beach Medical Center to be treated for dehydration.

Delray Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Dani Moschella said the woman was conscious and communicating with firefighters.

Kennedy told police she went for a swim on March 3 in a canal near her boyfriend's home at the Oasis apartment complex in west Delray Beach. That's about three miles from where Kennedy was found Tuesday.

The woman said, while swimming, she came across a doorway near a shallow part of the canal, which she entered and found a tunnel.

Delray Beach Fire Rescue on woman found in storm drain: 'She was down there for some time'

Because of her curiosity, Kennedy then followed the tunnel, which led to multiple other tunnels, causing her to become lost.

She told police she walked around the labyrinth of tunnels for about three weeks before spotting some light and saw people walking past her, prompting her to sit in place at that location.

Kennedy's mother was later contacted and notified they had found her missing daughter. She told police that Kennedy has a history of mental illness and is a frequent user of illegal narcotics.

The woman's mother also said Kennedy has done other odd things in the past and has a history of "making bad decisions when she is high on drugs," according to the police report.

Police said Kennedy has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

This story was originally published by Scott Sutton at WPTV.