TEEN WON'T LET ORDEAL STOP HIM FROM FISHING

Johnny Simmons got little rest Monday because of continually answering questions about how he felt and what he remembered of his rescue from the mud Sunday night.

Simmons, a 6-foot teen-ager, spent nearly four hours stuck chest deep in a muddy bank along Juden Creek near Twin Trees Park. Rescue workers spent two hours digging him out of the ooze. Two friends who were with him also had tried to dig him out before calling for help.

Simmons was freed about 8:30 p.m. and taken by helicopter to Southeast Missouri Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. He was released by midnight and was just sore and weak Monday.

Simmons had complained to rescue crews of feeling numb and losing sensation in his legs. Paramedics used heated IV solutions and blankets to keep his body temperature stable while firefighters tried to dig him out.

He told firefighters they could break one of his legs if that would help him get out quicker. "I tried to get out and twisted my legs," he said. "The more you move the more you get stuck."

Once Simmons arrived at the hospital he was put into a heated room with more warming blankets and heat lamps.

The air was so thick and warm in the room "it just slaps you in the face," said his stepmother, Renee Simmons, while at the hospital Sunday.

Fifteen-year-old Simmons remembers little about the event except that he was stuck in the mud for a long time. "I don't remember much, but they said I was stuck there four hours," he said.

His knees were bent in the mud and he couldn't feel any ground below him. "It's a real long way down there," he said at the scene Monday while shoving a branch down into the muck.

Simmons spent much of Monday resting -- or trying to between scheduling interviews. Every news agency in town is reporting the story, he said. "I've been on television, in the newspaper and on the radio."

His stepmother said, "I didn't know I had a celebrity son." But he's enjoying the attention. Even his younger siblings, 6 and 4, had people asking about their brother, she said.

Simmons hadn't planned on seeking fame. "I just wanted to go fishing," he said.

Since he hadn't found a good fishing hole yet, Simmons was exploring the area when he settled on a spot along Juden Creek. He and his brother-in-law, C.J. Kruse, had tried to fish on Saturday, but the rain prevented them from catching many fish.

So they tried again Sunday, but met with even worse luck when Simmons sank in the mud. "We were just messing around trying to find anything to catch. But I don't think you can catch anything here."

Standing at the site Monday, his father, Ron Simmons, and stepmother were surprised at how much mud there was. "You don't realize the danger here," said Ron Simmons.

He would like officials to put up some warning signs about the dangers because children could easily get hurt. "Accidents do happen. I've been in places where you sink, but nothing like this."

The mud isn't the typical mixture of dirt and water created in a yard after a rain. Firefighter Charles Brawley, who led the rescuers in digging efforts, said, "It's like quicksand."

The muck looked more like partially set concrete than the dirt children mix with water to make mud pies. "It's gooshy," Johnny Simmons said.

The soupy consistency made it hard for firefighters to dig Simmons out. The more they dug, the deeper he sank into the muck until firefighters began using plywood boards to wedge him out. Simmons could see his T-shirt and socks still left in the mud Monday. His cowboy boots were returned by firefighters. "But they sure stink," he said.

It won't keep Simmons from trying to find a new fishing hole. "I'm going to go again," he said. But next time he'll take along a phone and steer clear of the mud.