Missing teen rescued a mile off the Florida coast clinging to his body board

Independent

5 hours ago

A teenager in Florida whose family feared he'd drowned in the ocean was found nearly a mile from shore clinging to a body board, according to a local report.
Over the weekend, a family in Martin County reported that their son was missing. The family told investigators they were at the beach and, at some point, lost sight of the 15-year-old after he went under water.
A large search effort was organized that included Ocean Rescue lifeguards, a dive team, the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Martin County Fire Rescue, Jupiter Island Public Safety and the U.S. Coast Guard. The searchers looked for more than an hour before a private captain from TowBoat U.S. happened to spot the teen, according to CBS 12 News.
"Oh my God, I found him. I was just scanning the water. I looked directly north and all I saw was the top of his hand waving over the waves," Captain Ryan Foster said, recalling the moment he located the teen to reporters.
He said he found the teen hanging onto his boogie board and still wearing his goggles and snorkeling fins.
"He was resting his arms up on the boogie board. He was trying to tread water best he could. He had to have been out there, probably well over an hour at that point. So he was definitely getting a little winded, a little tired treading the water," Foster said.
The captain said the teenager had a reasonable request.
"The only thing he said to me was 'I would like a ride back to shore, please,'" Foster said.
After the rescue, the teenager was medically cleared and was reunited with his family.
First responders said that he was pulled unusually far away by the ocean currents and called the fact that he was able to be found a miracle.
'We're actually calling this a miracle recovery, because usually when someone gets pulled away, they kinda stay in the general area depending on the wind and the currents. But he unfortunately got pulled very far away and by the grace of God, he was able to stay afloat,' Martin County Fire Rescue District Chief Joshua Shell told reporters.