Partner of man trapped in manhole speaks out

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man who was stuck in a manhole in southwest Houston for nine days is still in the hospital recovering from serious injuries, but John Tillis, Jason Courtney's partner, gave ABC13 more insight into the nine days that Courtney spent trapped in a manhole.

Tillis said Courtney had never gone more than a few days without contacting him. Tillis also said he noticed Courtney hadn't been using his company phone.
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"I started telling friends, 'Jason's gone. Jason's dead. He's somewhere out in the woods, something's happened,'" Tillis said.



It turns out that Courtney survived after spending days in a fetal position, thinking he would drown from the constantly changing water levels in the manhole.

He survived by drinking that water and eating bugs and a snake that he had skinned.
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"He was just laying there, waiting to die. He thought he was going to die. He just knew -- he thought, 'This is my place to die.' He just waited to die, and he got saved," Tillis added. "If the Lord didn't take him at that point, God has something planned for Jason."

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the victim.

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