One wrong turn on a wooded trail turned into a three-day survival story that ended with a voice saying, “Help me.”
Quick Take
- A 68-year-old Minnesota woman was found alive after being missing for three days and stuck in mud near Park Rapids.[1][4]
- Two West Fargo men found her near a van after taking an unfamiliar trail on their ATVs.[1][3]
- She reportedly told them the mud felt like quicksand, which helps explain why she could not get free.[1][4]
- The public record is strong on the rescue itself, but weaker on first-hand documents and exact name spellings.[3][5][7][8]
The Rescue That Sounded Too Strange to Be Real
The core facts line up across several local reports. Kathryn Woessner, a 68-year-old woman from Alexandria, was last seen on June 3 and found on June 6, giving the story its three-day timeline.[1]
Multiple outlets report that two men spotted a van on a remote trail and then found her in a nearby mud puddle. They heard her ask for help and pulled her out before emergency crews took over.[3][4][5]
The detail that makes the story stick is also the detail that makes it hard to forget: the mud acted like a trap. Reporting says Woessner told rescuers the mud was like quicksand, and one account says she slipped after getting out of her van, which had become stuck.[1][4]
That explanation fits the rest of the rescue story, because the men described her as partly submerged and badly sunburned after days outside.[3][4]
Minnesota ATVers help rescue missing woman stuck in mud for 3 days: 'It had to be God' https://t.co/x3iCxhhLo8
— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) June 14, 2026
Why the Timeline Matters
The timeline is the backbone of the claim that she survived for days. Local reporting says she had not been seen since June 3, and rescuers found her June 6.[1] That supports the broad “stuck for days” framing, even if the record does not show every hour she remained there.
The public sources make the rescue look real and consistent, but they do not provide a minute-by-minute survival log.[3][5]
That matters because a dramatic rescue story can become cleaner in retelling than it was in real life. The reports agree on the main sequence, yet they also rely heavily on television segments, clip transcripts, and quoted officials rather than a full sheriff’s report or medical file.[1][3][4][5]
What the Men Said They Saw
The rescuers’ descriptions give the story its human center. One account says Adam Sandbeck noticed “a body in the puddle next to the van,” then heard Woessner say, “Help me.” Mike Gravalin said that changed their thinking from a trail ride to a rescue mission.[4]
Another broadcast says they spent about an hour and a half getting her out, then called 911 and waited for paramedics.[2][3]
Minnesota ATVers help rescue missing woman stuck in mud for 3 days: 'It had to be God' https://t.co/HMy3hfnP0Z
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) June 14, 2026
Those details matter because they show a chain of action, not just a headline. The men were not searching on a formal mission; they were riding a trail they did not usually take that day.[1][3][8]
That random change of route is what brought them to the van, the mud puddle, and the woman who still had enough strength to call out.[1][4]
What Remains Unclear
The rescue itself looks solid, but some parts of the public record remain messy. The woman’s name appears in several spellings across reports, and the rescuers’ names also vary from outlet to outlet.[1][2][3][5][7]
That kind of drift does not prove the event is false. It does make document matching harder and raises the value of original sheriff’s records, EMS logs, and hospital intake notes.
The same caution applies to the mud hazard itself. The reports compare it to quicksand and estimate the puddle at about two feet deep, but no site survey in the material confirms the terrain mechanics.[1][4]
Even so, the broad picture is hard to dismiss: a missing woman, a remote trail, a van stuck in mud, two riders who changed course, and a rescue that ended with hospital care and a reported good recovery.[1][2][3]
Sources:
[1] Web – Missing woman found alive after being stuck in mud puddle for days
[2] Web – Minnesota ATVers help rescue missing woman stuck in …
[3] YouTube – Missing woman found alive after being stuck in mud puddle …
[4] Web – Two men on a Minnesota trail helped rescue a missing …
[5] YouTube – Missing Minnesota woman found stuck in mud after three …
[7] Web – A missing woman was found in a Minnesota puddle of mud …
[8] Web – Two friends exploring a remote trail found a missing woman trapped …
