A father and son stranded barefoot and soaking wet in a mudhole in the Florida Everglades were rescued Thursday night, when deputies spotted the fire they had lit to stay warm.

The men got stuck in the mud in the Big Cypress National Preserve when their ATV ran out of gas, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said. With night approaching, the men called 911 for help.

“My four-wheeler ran out of gas,” the father told the 911 dispatcher. “We got stuck in a mudhole, and now we’re just here stranded. Pretty far and almost out of water with my son.”

The preserve is a vast swamp that stretches 729,000 acres across multiple counties.

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The father said he and his son both lost their shoes in the mud and were barefoot. He was also concerned about approaching wildlife as night began to fall.

“But the sun’s going down and the alligators are hungry, buddy,” he told the dispatcher, per WMGT-TV.

Deputies said the men were soaking wet and started a fire to keep warm.

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The sheriff’s Aviation Bureau launched a helicopter and tracked the men’s coordinates. They spotted the fire the men had started and saw the duo waving at the helicopter.

Video released by the sheriff’s office shows the father and son being hoisted to safety. The sheriff’s office added that the men extinguished the fire upon their rescue.

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No injuries were reported.

“This is another example of CCSO’s great training put into practice and the success that comes from seamless partnerships,” the sheriff’s office said.

Just days after another stabbing on Charlotte’s light rail, and only days after Iryna’s Law went into effect, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden warned that it would lead to dangerous overcrowding.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed Iryna’s Law in October, which was named after 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail in August. Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat offender, has been charged in her murder. The legislation imposes stricter pretrial release rules for repeat and violent offenders.

Speaking at a Monday news conference, the sheriff said the law adds numerous new requirements for his office and added that politicians used Zarutska’s stabbing as a “political agenda.”

“And we believe that the only reason that this caught national attention is because it was caught on video and it was displayed across the United States, and our local politicians at that time saw it was a political agenda, or they could highlight her as a refugee and not an immigrant,” McFadden said. “This is why they created Iryna’s Law.”

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McFadden insisted that the new legislation will lead to overcrowding in Mecklenburg County Jail.

“This law will cause our detention centers’ numbers to rise. We will have more people staying inside a detention center at a longer stay than normally. Because it attacks the new bond referendum and it attacks also the discretion that the magistrates and the judge has on releasing people,” he said.

The sheriff said that following Zarutska’s violent attack in August, local judges “were attacked violently on social media.”

“And we took additional measures to protect them because of the violent nature of social media, and parts of other media, and also just the violence that they received just personally,” he said. “And so, they live in fear now, and I have to say that, because for an entire day, we had to talk to the magistrates on how to live safely, how to travel safely, and in the middle of all of that, they were concerned after the shooting of Charlie Kirk, because they said to me, ‘Well, what if they shoot me because of this?’ And so, they’re going to be more cautious and reluctant to allow people to be released.”

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He argued that county staff will now be responsible for managing “a much more difficult population,” particularly individuals with heightened mental-health needs who must remain in custody longer under the new rules.

“On top of the other population, of the people who are arrested for robbery, rape and murder. All these people are still gonna be housed here at the detention center. So when people say, ‘Well, is that gonna cause a problem for your staff?’ Of course, it is. Why? Because my staff is not gonna be subject to having to deal with people with much more mental health problems than we had in the past. Or we’re gonna be dealing with families who will not understand why their loved ones are not being released.”

WATCH: North Carolina lawmakers pass tough-on-crime bill in honor of Iryna Zarutska

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The sheriff said that none of the new requirements were accompanied by state funding.

“House Bill 307 did not bring us any resources, and it did not bring any funding,” he said, adding that lawmakers should not impose such sweeping mandates without input from the agencies that must carry them out.

He asked legislators in Raleigh to include sheriffs in future conversations about criminal-justice policy, saying they “need a seat at the table and a voice” when new laws directly affect local detention operations.

A student died after a fight between two students at a Forsyth County, North Carolina, high school on Tuesday morning, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. said as he urged the community to pray for the families and come together on what he called “another sad day.”

Kimbrough said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference that just after 11 a.m. the school resource officer at North Forsyth High School sent out a communication saying he needed “all hands on deck.”

When deputies arrived, they learned there was an altercation between two students.

“During this… altercation, there was a loss of life and what I will tell you is that the families of the people involved have been notified,” Kimbrough said. “What I will tell you is that there is no danger to the community.”

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Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn Jr. said, “It’s a dark day for our city,” adding that the violence at the school “has shaken us to our very core.” He said his department is serving as an assisting agency in the investigation and is committed to helping identify exactly what happened.

Penn urged residents not to share videos or images from the incident online, saying it is “not the time to clout chase,” and warned that doing so is insensitive to the students and families affected.

He said the city, school staff and students at North Forsyth High School will need community support in the days ahead and asked residents to come together to “put an end to senseless violence.”

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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Don Phipps said his thoughts and prayers are with the students, staff and families impacted by the fatal altercation.

He thanked law enforcement and medical first responders for their quick response and praised school faculty and staff for acting swiftly during the emergency.

Phipps said, “Today is the worst nightmare of any educator” and that the district is hurting “when our students hurt.”

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He announced that North Forsyth High School would be closed for students on Wednesday and said crisis teams will be available for faculty and staff, with services extended to students once they return. The superintendent also encouraged parents and guardians to use the school’s website for resources if immediate needs arise.

Kimbrough said he would not answer questions or provide further details about what led to the altercation, citing the ongoing investigation. He emphasized that authorities are still gathering information and said releasing specifics too early could compromise the case.

“I know there’s a lot of questions that you probably have, but it’s an ongoing investigation,” Kimbrough said. “I won’t be answering any questions right now. As soon as we bring closure, what I will tell you is we will push the information out to you as we’ve always been transparent.”

Kimbrough said he had just left the victim’s family and repeated that what they need most right now is prayer.

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He said the governor reached out with condolences and urged the community to take time to reflect, talk with their children, and support students who witnessed the incident.

“We have some work to do in our community,” Kimbrough said.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein reacted to the stabbing on X.

“The stabbing that took place at North Forsyth High School is shocking and horrible,” he wrote. “I am praying for all students in the community and their loved ones. North Carolinians need to be safe wherever they are — especially in school. I have spoken with Sheriff Kimbrough to offer my support. We must never stop working toward a safer North Carolina.”