The Associated Press
REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware- A man who had an off-the-beaten-path rendezvous with a prostitute is facing numerous charges after he got stuck in waist-deep mud and required a police helicopter to pull him out.
Thomas J. Bruno, 49, was treated and released Sunday at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes. Troopers intend to charge Bruno with falsely reporting an incident, trespassing, criminal solicitation and patronizing a prostitute, The (Wilmington) News Journal reported.
Cpl. Jeff Oldham, a spokesman for the Delaware State Police, gave the News Journal this account of the incident, which took place early Sunday:
Bruno met a male prostitute in a bar and agreed to pay for sex with him near a wastewater treatment plant. But the two got into an argument, and Bruno got lost while trying to leave the area on foot.
About 4 a.m., Bruno called emergency officials on his cell phone, but was disoriented and could not provide an accurate description of his whereabouts.
Troopers, Rehoboth Beach firefighters and Lewes police, using night-vision goggles to find Bruno’s vehicle, followed his footprints about two miles (three kilometers).
When troopers found Bruno nearly four hours later, he was stuck in mud up to his waist. A state police helicopter lowered a harness to Bruno, who put it on, and he was tugged from the mud.
Bruno first told police he had driven off the road and became stranded in a field, Oldham said. Upon questioning, he told police the prostitute had stolen his money; later, he admitted giving the man money for sex.