Missing Florida woman found naked in a storm drain after harrowing ordeal

Delray Beach, Florida - A woman from Florida who had been missing for three weeks was rescued from a storm drain after someone finally heard her cries for help and called 911.

A missing woman was found in a sewage system.
A missing woman was found in a sewage system.  © Screenshot Facebook/Delray Beach Fire Rescue

Lyndsey Kennedy was reported missing to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on March 3.

There was no trace of her, until a passerby heard cries for help coming out of a storm drain.

Police rushed to the scene immediately and were able to rescue the traumatized woman.

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According to the Tampa Bay Times, it is still unclear know how long the 43-year-old woman was in the drain.

"The idea that somebody might be down there for any length of time is disturbing," said Dani Moschella, spokeswoman for the Delray Beach Fire Department. "It’s dirty, dangerous, there’s snakes, rats, garbage, dirt and leaves, anything that’s on the street that washes into a sewer, and it smells terrible."

The naked woman was reportedly covered in dirt, with leaves in her hair and scrapes on her knees, when she was rescued.

"I don’t know how much longer she would have been OK down there," Moschella said.

The woman said she swam into a mysterious tunnel

Firefighters rescued the woman from the sewer system in which she was allegedly stuck for weeks (collage).
Firefighters rescued the woman from the sewer system in which she was allegedly stuck for weeks (collage).  © Screenshot Facebook/Delray Beach Fire Rescue (2)

Firefighters and rescuers removed the drain's grate and used a ladder to climb down.

As the 43-year-old was too weak to get up by herself, a firefighter climbed into the drainage pipe with a harness to help get the woman out.

The officers were puzzled: how did the woman end up in the sewer system?

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She told the police she was swimming in a canal close to her boyfriend’s house on March 3 when she noticed a door leading to a tunnel.

Curious to find out where the mysterious tunnel would lead, the woman entered other tunnels until she realized that she was lost.

She was stuck the sewer system for weeks, she told police.

Her mother later explained to police that Lyndsey Kennedy suffers from mental illness and frequently takes drugs, which has led her to make poor decisions before.

According to Ted White, a spokesperson for the police, authorities are currently trying to figure out whether her story is accurate.

"We don’t feel that there was any crime committed," White said, as quoted by the Washington Post. "But the biggest question is, is her story credible? Was she actually down there the whole time?"

Meanwhile, health officials assume the woman most likely was in the sewer system for two or three days.

Cover photo: Screenshot Facebook/Delray Beach Fire Rescue (2)

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