Stinky Christmas for man stuck in septic tank

updated 12:33 p.m. ET Dec. 26, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa - It was a stinky holiday for Robert Schoff.

The 77-year-old man spent part of Christmas Eve stuck upside down in the opening of his septic tank, with his head inside and his feet kicking in the air above.

"It wasn't good, I'll tell you what," Schoff said Tuesday. "It was the worst Christmas Eve I've ever had."

Schoff reached into the tank Monday in an effort to find a clog, but he lost his balance and got wedged into the opening.

The 5-foot-5-inch, 135-pound Schoff hollered and screamed for help, but it was an hour before his wife, Toni, walked by a window and saw his feet in the air.

"I saw these kicking feet and ran out, but couldn't get him out," Toni Schoff said.

She called 911 and two Polk County sheriff's deputies yanked her husband out of the tank.

"I thought it was the end of my life," Schoff said. "Thank God my wife saw me. I don't think I could have stood staying in there much more."

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