JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department rescued a man from a retention pond on Beach Boulevard on the Southside Wednesday morning, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police and rescue crews were called to 9070 Beach Boulevard, where there is a retention pond at the corner of Southside Boulevard.
An employee of Travel Camp, an RV camp behind the pond, told First Coast News they saw a man who appeared to be homeless wading in the water. They turned around, and when they looked back he was gone, the employee said.
The worker knew the man must have gone under the water, and they called 911. The employee believes the man had to have been in the water for 20 minutes.
Employees witnessed firefighters pulling the man out of the water. When First Coast News told the workers that police said the man survived, they were shocked.
Officers on scene were seen putting the man’s belongings into a bag.