Suspect running from cops snagged by thick algae in Florida canal

CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- (WPTV) -- Algae-filled waterways have been plaguing Southwest Florida this summer, courtesy ongoing water releases into the Caloosahatchee River. But Saturday in a canal near Jaycee Park in Cape Coral, Florida, police were glad to have it around.

According to Cape Coral Police, officers pulled over 22-year-old Abraham Duarte of Ocala, Florida along Beach Parkway off Del Prado Boulevard around 7 p.m. Saturday. Officers say Duarte immediately jumped out of the car and fled on foot before jumping in a canal in an effort to escape.

However, the canal's thick algae quickly overcame Duarte, who swallowed some of the algae before making his way back toward police. Duarte was pulled back onto land and hospitalized before being taken to Lee County Jail. He faces charges of Resisting Arrest without Violence, and Possession of Controlled Substance for the seven vials of THC oil officers found in his car.