Southold Cop's Fast Acting Saves East End Man From Freezing Marsh

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An East End man was in rehabilitation following a harrowing ordeal that nearly claimed his life.

He got lost walking home, and was sucked into a bog filled with muck and sand where Silver Lake branches into a marshy creek in Greenport.

As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, that's where 22-year-old Rony Perez became trapped for hours in what felt like quicksand.

"I was really scared," Perez said, "My whole body was frozen."

Perez became lost while taking a shortcut home and found himself freezing and sinking up to his armpits.

During a frantic 911 call police pinged Perez's cell phone to determine his location.

"It's surrounded by marsh, heavy reeds, trees, so it's not a spot anybody uses recreationally, or goes to, so that is the area that the phone pinged to," Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said.

Officer John Crosser was on night duty. He had to make a quick decision.

"I stopped at my residence to pick up a pair of waders, was able to get there, made my way around the marsh and the woods and was able to find him," he said.

Perez was nearly unconscious and overcome with hypothermia.

"Would be responsive for a minute, then fade in and out," Crosser said, "I was holding him up for a good portion of the time, and he apparently had no feeling in his legs. His legs were just hanging there."

Officer Crosser and his backup called for a raft to help evacuate the graduate of Greenport High School, who now works as a chef.

"Stopped breathing at one point for about 30 seconds. Came back. He is a tough kid to be able to withstand that cold and that temperature," Crosser said.

Perez called it a near miracle.

"I really appreciate what the person did for me. I mean, he saved my life," Perez said.

Residents were proud of the first responders.

"That's amazing, to be stuck like that and Southold Police coming along. Wow, my hats off to them," Heather Rooney said.

Perez barely remembers seeing flashlights and the sounds of shouts and sirens from police and three local fire departments.

Volunteers from the Greenport, East Marion, and Southold fire departments aided in the successful rescue.