A family of five from Ohio that went missing after taking an airboat ride was found unharmed on Friday, authorities said.
The family of two adults and three children were identified as Scott Schreck, 44, Carie Schreck, 42, and their three children, 9-year-old Drew, 7-year-old Luke and Zane, who is between 3 and 4 years old.
Scott Schreck said the family had plenty of food and water. He said the boat was his friend's.
"This is the first time I have been out here," Schreck said. "It was exciting, how's that."
They were found by a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter, and firefighters were hoisted to the ground to assess the situation, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino.
Authorities were able to hear the family blowing horns and whistles and they Fire Rescue the coordinates to find them, he said.
"It looks like they got stuck in that dense vegetation in the Everglades," Pino said.
There were showers and thunderstorms in the area.
Pino said authorities were deciding how to pick up the people since they didn't want their own airboats to get stuck in the vegetation.
"It is my understanding that it's their own airboat," said FWC spokeswoman Carli Segelson.
Fire Rescue said the family seemed to be physically OK, but they are being checked out.
The people went missing from the area near SW 8th Street and 177th Avenue. The search had been focused around the Evergaldes and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management area, which spans Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
"It's a happy ending to a potentially very sad story," Pino said.
Authorities had searched Thursday and continued Friday.
Stay with NBC6.com for updates as they become available.
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