A street preacher stuck in a drainpipe in Fort Oglethorpe has been freed, officials said.
Thomas Loher, 22, had become lodged in the clogged storm drain near Battlefield Parkway and Lafayette Road. Rescue crews worked more than nine hours underground to free him.
Loher seemed to be in good condition and came out of the pipe walking, Fort Oglethorpe Police Chief Keith Sewell said in a phone message.
On Wednesday, Loher seemed somewhat confused but was in good spirits while in the hospital, Loher's mother, Gladys Pineda Loher, said. He reportedly had a kidney infection from the incident, Pineda Loher said, but didn't appear to have any other injuries.
It's still unclear how or why Loher entered the pipe.
"We didn't talk that much about that, because he's still a little bit confused, so I didn't want to get into that," Loher's mother said by phone. "I just want to make sure that he's OK and taking the care that he needs right now."
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The call came in just before 3 p.m. Tuesday from a driver who reported hearing someone calling for help inside the storm drain. Fort Oglethorpe police responded and called for assistance from the Catoosa County Fire Department, officials said.
Firefighters determined the man was lodged inside the 24-inch drainpipe and called for backup from neighboring agencies.
Crews determined the storm drain was about 50% clogged with debris that built up over time with a heavy, rocky, clay consistency. Rescue crews used hand tools to dig through the debris, aided by a vacuum truck from Fort Oglethorpe public works, officials said.
Thomas Loher remained conscious and communicated with firefighters. He had been reported missing by his mother Tuesday morning after he didn't come home Monday night, she said.
He'd left his phone and Bible at home before heading out for the day, his mother said. She found his bike Tuesday morning off the side of the road near where he typically preaches, she said.
Officials said Loher had been trapped for around 24 hours after he went into the storm drain several hundred feet away from where he became trapped.
"I have no idea," Pineda Loher said when asked Wednesday why her son could have entered the pipe. "I have so many questions to ask, but I have no idea. It's still surreal, all of this, I still don't know ... what led him to do such a thing in the first place."
Pineda Loher said her son has never mentioned being bothered or harassed on his street corner. On the contrary, she said, people often come to him for help.
"People respect him a lot from what I hear," she said. "People are good to him. ... Obviously there is people that have a disagreement with that, and it's not something they want to see all the time."
Loher was freed shortly after midnight and taken by Puckett EMS to a hospital for evaluation and treatment, Sewell said.
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"Thanks to our firefighters putting their confined space rescue training to work and the assistance from several partnering agencies, this lengthy and technical rescue has a successful outcome," said Catoosa County Fire Chief Daniel Walston in a news release. "I am proud of how everyone involved worked together to save this young man's life."
Pineda Loher said she's grateful for all the teams who worked to extricate her son. She said she woke up Wednesday morning "just grateful he is alive."
"God was present to allow them to find him in that intersection that is so loud," she said. "I was there in the morning. I went to pick up the bike with my husband, and we walked around and called his name."
Onlookers had gathered Tuesday afternoon to watch the rescue efforts. Brittany Clayton said she lives within walking distance of the intersection and talks to the preacher often.
"The preacher man, he usually stands down there," Clayton said, gesturing to the northwest corner of Lafayette Road and Battlefield Parkway. "He's very kind and sweet and preaches to everybody."
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.