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LAWTON, Okla. — What started as a recovery effort for lost money ended in a nightmare for a man who became stuck in drainage pipes for two days. TV station KSWO reports that police helped rescue a man stuck in Lawton’s storm drain system after a group of high school kids heard his cries for help coming from a manhole.

KSWO says the man dropped a $20 bill in a storm water drain and told police he had no choice but to go into the sewer to try and retrieve the money. However, he became lost after he went below the street and couldn’t make his way back above ground, leaving him pleading for help.

By the time those high school students heard him and called 911, two days had passed. When officers arrived and removed the manhole cover, they found him 12-15 feet below the street in a pipe that had a diameter of 42 inches. KSWO reports he likely had to crawl to get to the location where he was found.

Rescuers had to lower a ladder down to the man to bring him back up. After many years on the force, an officer told KSWO this rescue was a first.

“That’s the first time in going on 28 years that we have found somebody in a storm drain,” Sergeant John Chelenza told KSWO.

The man was also said to be found in poor condition.

“He had a bump on his head, he may have hit his head against a wall down there because it was obviously pretty dark,” Officer Alicia Redding said. “He was pretty dehydrated and not really sure of the time and date.”

To add insult to injury, the man never found the $20 bill that had lured into the sewer system in the first place.

WATCH: Video report from KSWO