BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY, Ind. -  

A former Hoosier marine, hurt while deep in the woods, is crediting two Bartholomew County sheriff's deputies for coming to his rescue.

Josh Smith, 29, was taking photos of nature and wildlife when he stepped into a hole, injuring his ankle.

"My body was going forward, but my right foot was not," Smith said.

He couldn't move, he believed his ankle was broken, he was deep in the woods and it was getting dark.       

"I immediately looked at my cell phone and had no bars of service and the battery was blinking because I did not charge it up," he said.

When he realized there wasn't a soul around -- and he had no means of communication -- that's when he became worried for his life.

He stayed put for five hours. During that time, Smith said he focused on his young children and his fiancee.

"I was concerned laying there in the middle of nowhere that I could possibly be ending my life here," he said.

Meanwhile, Smith's family had started searching for him, worried he'd been gone for so long.

They enlisted the help of Bartholomew County sheriff's deputies Jessica Pendleton and Jimmy Stevens.

Then Smith finally got a cell signal and called dispatch.

"He was injured and did not know where he was," Stevens said.

Officers were able to pin his cell phone, and tracked him down. 

"He was quite a distance from the road because we had to walk several minutes before actually locating him," Stevens said.

Smith was rescued just after midnight.

"I would like to say now, thank you very much for helping save my life," Smith said to the deputies.