florida joe
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An 11-year-old girl has been found alive and in good condition today after spending four nights in the alligator-infested swampy woods near her Winter Springs, Fla., home, police say.
Nadia Bloom was found this morning by a church volunteer conducting a private search, according to reports.
She was "doing well, with bug bites and some dehydration," Police Chief Kevin Brunelle told the Orlando Sentinel. Search teams had not yet cleared the area where she was found, he said.
Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel / AP
Nadia Bloom, 11, who went missing on Friday afternoon, is carried by rescuers after being found on Tuesday.
Officials carried Nadia out of the thick woods on a stretcher to her waiting parents and sister. She was treated in an ambulance at the edge of the woods, MSNBC reported, before being taken to a hospital.
"It all came so fast, and it just shows the compassion of the human spirit. It should give everybody encouragement," Jeff Bloom said after his daughter was placed in the ambulance, the Sentinel reported.
Asked how he felt, he said, "I can't even describe it. Let's give the glory to God."
Nadia's mother, Tanya, thanked rescue crews and strangers alike for their good wishes. "They have been so wonderful," she said, according to the Sentinel.
According to the police, Nadia has the autism-related disorder Asperger's syndrome, the Sentinel said.
The Metro Church said this morning that member James King found Nadia, Orlando's WESH reported on its Web site. The church's senior pastor, Dan Holland, called King a "hero."
"[King] woke up this morning and told the pastor, 'I walked straight through the swamp, and there she was,'" Holland told the Sentinel.
A spokeswoman for Nadia's family, Patricia Guobadia, told the paper, "Our prayers have been answered. ... It's just celebration today."
MSNBC said that police believe Nadia got lost in the woods and that they had no evidence she was abducted but were still investigating.
Nadia was last seen last Friday afternoon, riding her bike in her gated community. Her mother found her abandoned bicycle about a half-mile from their home and called authorities.
Search teams had gone through some 3,000 acres of alligator-infested wooded land near the subdivision where Nadia lives. The search involved dive teams that looked through six bodies of water in the area, WESH reported, although they faced murky water that was up to 15 feet deep.
On Sunday, authorities learned from Nadia's sister that the 11-year-old liked exploring the outdoors and appeared to have taken with her a backpack, a camera, a video recorder and an American Girl Doll book, "Meet Lanie Holland," about a character who loves the outdoors.
With that information, authorities believed Nadia got lost while exploring the woods.
Nadia Bloom was found this morning by a church volunteer conducting a private search, according to reports.
She was "doing well, with bug bites and some dehydration," Police Chief Kevin Brunelle told the Orlando Sentinel. Search teams had not yet cleared the area where she was found, he said.
Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel / AP
Nadia Bloom, 11, who went missing on Friday afternoon, is carried by rescuers after being found on Tuesday.
Officials carried Nadia out of the thick woods on a stretcher to her waiting parents and sister. She was treated in an ambulance at the edge of the woods, MSNBC reported, before being taken to a hospital.
"It all came so fast, and it just shows the compassion of the human spirit. It should give everybody encouragement," Jeff Bloom said after his daughter was placed in the ambulance, the Sentinel reported.
Asked how he felt, he said, "I can't even describe it. Let's give the glory to God."
Nadia's mother, Tanya, thanked rescue crews and strangers alike for their good wishes. "They have been so wonderful," she said, according to the Sentinel.
According to the police, Nadia has the autism-related disorder Asperger's syndrome, the Sentinel said.
The Metro Church said this morning that member James King found Nadia, Orlando's WESH reported on its Web site. The church's senior pastor, Dan Holland, called King a "hero."
"[King] woke up this morning and told the pastor, 'I walked straight through the swamp, and there she was,'" Holland told the Sentinel.
A spokeswoman for Nadia's family, Patricia Guobadia, told the paper, "Our prayers have been answered. ... It's just celebration today."
MSNBC said that police believe Nadia got lost in the woods and that they had no evidence she was abducted but were still investigating.
Nadia was last seen last Friday afternoon, riding her bike in her gated community. Her mother found her abandoned bicycle about a half-mile from their home and called authorities.
Search teams had gone through some 3,000 acres of alligator-infested wooded land near the subdivision where Nadia lives. The search involved dive teams that looked through six bodies of water in the area, WESH reported, although they faced murky water that was up to 15 feet deep.
On Sunday, authorities learned from Nadia's sister that the 11-year-old liked exploring the outdoors and appeared to have taken with her a backpack, a camera, a video recorder and an American Girl Doll book, "Meet Lanie Holland," about a character who loves the outdoors.
With that information, authorities believed Nadia got lost while exploring the woods.
