‘Needle in a Haystack': Farmer finds skydiver’s missing leg after Facebook post

A double amputee who lost a prosthetic leg while skydiving has seen it returned to him after he put a call out on Facebook to help track it down.

Chris Marckres, 47, from Hyde Park in Boston, went for a jump last weekend at Vermont Skydiving Adventures and lost one of his prosthetic legs abut 20 seconds after leaping from the plane.

“I think my adrenaline was so high and I was just so excited, I didn’t realise I had lost it,” Mr Marckres, who was harnessed to an instructor and landed safely told local outlet NECN.

“The instructor told me to get my legs in position for landing, but as I reached down to pull them up, I noticed my right one wasn’t there,” he told The Daily Mail.

Mr Marckres needed his leg for mobility and replacing it would be an expensive process costing him about $20,000, so the hopeful thrill-seeker decided to ask locals on Facebook to keep an eye out for his leg.

The post was shared over 1,500 times and caught the eye of farmer Joe Marszalkowski who made a mental note to keep an eye out for it on his property located near the skydiving field. But even he was shocked when he spotted the leg in his soybean field the next day.

"I was very grateful to have found it without running it over with a machine this fall during harvest or, God forbid, the combine sucked it up – it would've destroyed it," Mr Marszalkowski told NECN.

The eagle-eyed farmer said finding it was “literally a needle in a haystack”.

Mr Marckres’ leg was intact with just a few scratches.

“9500 foot drop and it's 100 per cent intact,” he gladly wrote on Facebook.

• New details of how Bridger Walker, 6, saved sister from dog attack

• Team's dramatic rescue of huge dog injured at the top of a mountain

• Amazing twist after mum donates scratchie win to wounded cop

The pair arranged to meet so Mr Marszalkowski could return the leg to its relieved owner.

“It’s never too late to make new friends,” he posted on Facebook along with a photo of the pair smiling.

“I can not even begin thank everyone enough that has been involved with the search. You all have shown me there are still so many good people. Thank you all again, especially Joe,” Mr Marckres shared with his followers.

The new friends reportedly plan to do the next skydive together.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.