Jamie Acord had a startling experience while she and her husband, Patrick Acord, were walking on the water’s edge of a New England beach. While visiting the Popham Beach State Park in Phippsburg, Jamie and Patrick were walking side by side at the water’s edge when she dropped 2.5 feet into what they later found out was quicksand. Thankfully, Jamie was not alone and was able to shout to her husband for help. “My wife fell in almost instantly,” Patrick told Fox News. “It only took a few seconds to pull her out after she realized she couldn’t get her legs free herself.” According to the Associated Press, Jamie’s hands were full as she had been collecting trash on the beach. Patrick jumped into action, pulling his wife from the sand before more sand kept pouring in. “I couldn’t feel the bottom…I couldn’t find my footing,” Jamie Acord told the AP. It was a close call, but Patrick was able to pull Jamie from the quicksand uninjured other than a few scratches on and top and bottom of her foot. The pair said that they did speak to a park ranger about the incident. “He said they had received a handful of similar complaints but none where someone sunk this deep, and usually they were in an area where supersaturated sand is more common – such as near the mouth of the river that flows out next to the beach,” Patrick Acord said.

While getting stuck in quicksand may sound like something out of a movie, it definitely could happen in real life. According to Live Science, quicksand is a mixture of fine sand, clay and salt water. In an article published by the National Geographic, quicksand is said to have a density of about 2 grams per milliliter, while humans have a density of about 1 gram per milliliter. “At that level of density, sinking in quicksand is impossible. You would descend about up to your waist, but you’d go no further.” The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry released an advisory following Jamie Acord’s quicksand incident. “While this picturesque spot [Popham Beach State Park] is perfect for outdoor recreation, a few simple precautions can help ensure your visit remains enjoyable and safe,” they wrote.