Family lost over night in Picayune Strand State Forest

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Family lost over night in Picayune Strand State Forest (Photo Credit:Elias Yakob)

NAPLES, Fla. A family of five was camping in the Picayune Strand State Forest when they got lost in the woods overnight.

The parents and their three kids from Orlando ran out of supplies during their camping trip. Their trail map showed a Walmart was just a few miles from where they were staying. But recent brush fires burned up trail markers and made their walk extra challenging.

“We don’t know how much we walked that weren’t actually trails,” the father Jason Shenefield said.

Earlier this month a blaze burned approximately 7,230 acres in the Picayune Strand State Forest and destroyed four homes, the Florida Forest Service said.

The family began walking around 6 p.m. and Collier County Sheriff officers found them by helicopter at 10:30 p.m. Shenefield was able to call 911 before his cell phone ran out of battery.

 

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