Stuck at night in Apalachicola National Forest

Saturday, November 16th, 2024, at 9:28 p.m. (ET), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in Northern Florida. The requester, Ricky Mccrty, submitted the following information: “Forest service rd 388 take a left at big fork on the trail have basic strap was not planning on doing any of this but got lost / I’m with the vehicle”

Our administrator, Al Fontan, contacted the requester and verified the contact information provided, GPS location, and current situation before sending the request to local volunteers. In this particular recovery, we contacted volunteers within a 95-mile radius.

We also began networking with local groups. One of our volunteers, Timothy Chick, reached out to a local group he belongs to, TallyHo Off-Road.

Through this connection, he was able to get in touch with John Layne, who drove around 20 miles to assist Ricky.

John took charge of the recovery, and we ensured that Ricky and John were connected to coordinate the efforts. By 10:00 p.m., Ricky was freed, and the ticket was successfully closed.

Later, John shared a brief note along with some photos and videos, which we’ll include below.

From John:

I live in Apalachicola, FL, right next to the Apalachicola National Forest and Tate’s Hell State Forest. If anyone ever needs assistance in these areas, I’ll be glad to help. I’ve also taken some photos and videos, which I’ll send over soon.

Thank you, John, for your help and for signing up as a volunteer in this area. Great work! (recovery in Northern Florida)

We are always looking to increase our presence in this area; if you would like to receive a text message when we get a request near you, create your account here: offroadportal.org/signup