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Florida runner gets lost for 12 hours during half-marathon

Posted at 9:49 AM, Dec 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-06 13:19:22-05

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida woman who became lost during a half-marathon trail run was eventually found after wandering around a local park for almost 12 hours.

The Sarasota Times-Heraldreports that Melissa Kitcher was in good spirits after being found on Sunday.

Kitcher says she made a wrong turn more than three miles into the 13.1-mile run.

Race director Thierry Rouillard says he had no idea Kitcher was still on the trail until he got a call from her husband in the late afternoon asking where she was.

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies began searching the 25,000-acre park not long after that.

Kitcher says her cell phone froze before the race started and eventually lost power.

She says she was never really worried since she knew her family would come looking for her.
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