Delray Beach Woman Rescued from Storm Drain

Victim rescued after saying she was swimming in a canal

By Kathryn Hubbard

A Delray Beach woman was recently rescued from a storm drain told officials that she was trapped for three weeks after swimming in a canal.

The Delray Beach Fire Department responded to a 911 call from a witness nearby saying she heard someone calling for help from the drain. The storm drain that Lyndsey Jane Kennedy was trapped under is east of I-95 on the intersection of West Atlantic and Southwest 11th. 

Kenedy told officials that she went swimming in a canal near her apartment complex on Mar. 3, the same day her boyfriend reported her missing. Kennedy told officials that while swimming, she came across a doorway near a shallow part of the canal and found a tunnel. Out of curiosity, Kennedy then entered the tunnel and followed other tunnels, which led to her becoming lost. Circumstances like this usually require a team that has undergone a confined space entry training and other types of rescue programs.

Kennedy told police that she walked around the tunnel for nearly three weeks before spotting light and calling for help. Kennedy also mentioned that she found an unopened bottle of ginger ale and drank it. 

“We from the police department standpoint find it very hard to believe that she spent that amount of time down there. You need food and water, and so some things don’t add up,” said Delray Beach Department spokesman Ted White. 

Once the fire department arrived at the scene, officials were able to rescue Kennedy by inserting a ladder down the drain. Once the fire department extracted Kennedy from the drain, she was taken to Delray Beach Medical Center to be treated for dehydration.

Kennedy has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.