Angler has to be rescued when mud swallows him along saltwater creek, SC officials say

A retiree fishing on one of South Carolina’s islands had to be rescued after he accidentally stepped in the notorious coastal quicksand known as “pluff mud.”

It happened around 11 a.m. Friday, June 7, on Pawleys Island, about a 25-mile drive south of Myrtle Beach.

The angler was found standing thigh-deep in the mud, along the banks of Pawleys Creek, Midway Fire Rescue Chief Brent McClellan told McClatchy News. The saltwater creek is known for flounder fishing.

“He’s a local man who fishes at the same spot every day, but he took one step more than usual and couldn’t get out,” McClellan said.

“I’m not sure who reported it, but he wasn’t stuck that long. We walked out on ladders, got under his arm pits and lifted him.”

As odd as the call sounds, the department responds to a couple of mud rescues a year, he said.

The island’s “pluff mud,” also known as “plough mud,” is unique to South Carolina’s salt marshes and is known for smelling like rotten eggs, experts say.

Unlike regular mud, it’s “a thick, clay-like, dark brown mud that is made up of decaying matter, including marsh grass, fish, and animals,” according to Southern Living.

“If you touch it you’ll likely get the dark, oozy material all over you. And if you step on it, you’ll most certainly lose a shoe,” the magazine says.

The angler, who wasn’t identified, only had to stand in it for about 10 minutes before being freed, McClellan said.

He wasn’t hurt, Pawleys Island police said in a post on social media.

The spot where he was stuck is submerged at high tide. However, it’s also directly across from City Hall, so there was little chance the man would have gone unnoticed that long, McClellan said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Angler has to be rescued when mud swallows him along saltwater creek, SC officials say."