Man says God led him to 11-year-old Florida girl lost in the Everglades for days

Rescuer says God led him to Fla. girl in swamp

TAMPA, Fla. — A father of five who rescued an 11-year-old girl lost in a Florida swamp for days said Wednesday that God helped him through dangerous terrain to get to her.

James King spent much of the day in New York being chauffeured around to television interviews. He clutched a leather-and-gold Bible as he spoke with The Associated Press outside the Manhattan studios of “Inside Edition.”

Officials in Winter Spring, Fla., credit King with finding Nadia Bloom deep inside an alligator-infested swamp Tuesday. She had been missing four days.

“God led me to her,” King said before describing what he encountered as he searched. “You can slip and fall, there’s a lot of mud, and you can’t always see where you’re walking. “

King said he knows Nadia’s family because he used to attend the same Seventh-Day Adventist church they did. He no longer belongs to the church, but would not say why he left. He joined other former church members who were searching for Nadia on Tuesday.

He had taken along a roll of toilet paper, having heard that one could mark one’s way into the dense wilderness by unrolling it while walking. He ended up not using it because he said his path into the swamp was so dense and dangerous — with a twig poking him in the eye at one point — that he decided he’d take another way out.

As he got deeper into the wilderness, he kept repeating verses from the Bible for guidance, including one from Proverbs that says, “Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding … And He will direct your paths.”

Nadia recited these words with him once he found her, said King, who said he works for Elbit Systems of America, a subsidiary of an Israeli defense contractor.

King said he was surprised by how calm Nadia was when he reached her in a dry patch in the middle of the swamp. The fifth-grader has Asperger’s syndrome, a type of autism-related disorder.

“Hi. This is Nadia and I’m the girl that got lost,” she told a police dispatcher Tuesday after King dialed 911 and the dispatcher asked to speak with her.

The girl, who had last been seen Friday, was taken to a hospital in nearby Longwood, where she was evaluated and treated for dehydration and insect bites, said Winter Springs Police Chief Kevin Brunelle.

“If I never believed in miracles, I sure do now,” Brunelle said.

The medical director at South Seminole Hospital, Dr. Rakish Parekh, told reporters that Nadia was smiling and had some bruises and bites. She was getting intravenous fluids for dehydration.

“She is doing remarkably well,” he said.

The discovery was welcome — and rare — in a state that has been plagued with missing children.

Brunelle said Nadia told rescuers two things: “I’m glad you guys found me” and “I can’t believe you guys rescued me.”

Her sister has said Nadia may have gone into the dense woods hoping to make a nature video.

As they waited for rescuers to arrive, King gave her a nutritional shake, an apple and some water.

During the 911 call, he asked Nadia if he could take her photo, “so you can show how God protected you.”

“Sure!” Nadia replied.

King then unfurled toilet paper around a tree in an attempt to draw attention to where they were.

Using cell phone signals and GPS coordinates, authorities found them in the swamp.

“Mr. King is a hero right now,” said Brunelle. “He led us to her.”

It took nearly two hours for rescuers to carry Nadia out of the thick brush and swamp.

Shortly after word came that she was alive, her father addressed the media.

“It all came so fast and it just shows the compassion of the human spirit. It should give everybody encouragement,” Jeff Bloom said after rescue crews lifted his daughter into an ambulance.

When asked how he felt, Bloom said: “I can’t even describe it. Let’s give the glory to God.”

Dobnik reported from New York.