Latest news with #CedarKey
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Best friends aged 16 lost at SEA after going paddleboarding
Two 16-year-old girls beat impossible odds after being swept miles into the ocean on a paddleboard - surviving 16 freezing, wave-pummeling hours in the pitch-black waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 'Only an intervention from the Good Lord above could have saved those girls,' Lieutenant Scott Tummond of the Levy County Sheriff's Office, said, still in disbelief over the teen duo's miraculous survival. Best friends Avery Bryan and Eva Aponte set out for what was supposed to be a short, half-mile paddleboarding trip from Atsena Otie Key to Cedar Key on March 17 - but powerful winds and a ripping current had other plans. 'It was low-tide and the water looked pretty nice and we decided it was a great time to go to the sandbar because we could see it,' Avery told Inside Edition, recounting their near-death experience. 'We walked in like hip-deep and got in and started paddling,' Eva said, adding, 'the current was very strong.' Within minutes, the girls were ripped from the coastline and dragged more than 14 nautical miles out to sea, clinging to a single inflatable paddleboard - and neither wearing a life jacket. 'It was rough, I mean rough out there,' Tummond told 'We're talking 6-foot seas with gusting winds. And really cold. Water temperatures got down to the high 30s overnight.' As the sun set and the cold crept in, the girls huddled together, trying to stay afloat. 'One-hundred percent our lives were in danger,' Avery said. 'We were both out there in 40 degree weather with sweatshirts on and shorts on the water. Throughout the night, both of us had trouble keeping out hearts beating. I had [Eva] on top of me and at that point our breathing had synced up, it was very slow.' To keep themselves 'sane,' the pair sang songs from popular children's movies, cracked jokes and even played an alphabet game naming animals to keep their spirits from sinking along with them. 'We had to keep laughing, or we were going to lose it,' Bryan said at a press conference 10 days after their heroic rescue. The two girls told Inside Edition that they saw helicopters flying overhead during their time lost at sea, however even as the best friends were yelling for help, the helicopters 'flew over four times.' Rescuers reportedly had to carry the girls from their location (pictured) in the shallow marsh to the rescue boat as they were 'too weak' to stand 'We were yelling and we were trying to wave our arms out to the sides and we picked up the paddle and we just started waving it around,' Eva said. Their parents later alerted police and the coast guard to their missing children prompting a full-scale search. The girls, smart and resourceful, clung to the paddleboard and later wrung out their wet clothes to stay warm after washing up in a shallow marsh - an area filled with razor-sharp oyster beds. 'That's the reason they are alive,' Gary Bartell, the marina owner who rushed to the scene, said. Bartell boarded his airboat after local fishermen Will Pauling, Alex Jefferies and Russell Coon, who were part of the widespread search efforts, spotted the girls frantically waving for help just after 10 am on March 18. The rescuers reportedly had to carry the girls from their location in the shallow marsh to the rescue boat as they were 'too weak' to stand. When Bartell asked them what happened, the girls were initially quiet - until he started joking with them. 'That's when they really started to relax,' he said. He later snapped a heartwarming photo of the girls, arms around each other, smiling through exhaustion as they returned to shore. An emotional reunion followed. 'The emotions were just flooding that boat ramp from everyone,' Bartell said. 'There was one little girl in particular, who shot through the crowd and ran she just gave me the biggest hug that I've ever gotten in my entire life. At that point, we both had tears in our eyes.' 'It was an emotional return,' he continued. 'You could just feel the joy in every single person's heart.' Avery and Eva were taken to a local hospital and treated for hypothermia and dehydration. By March 20, they were back home. 'These girls were smart,' Tummond said, noting that every decision the girls made while they were at sea '100 percent increased their chances at survival.' 'What Mom and Dad taught them stuck. Every decision they made saved their lives.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cedar Key named one of America's 11 most endangered historic places
CEDAR KEY, Fla. (WFLA) — The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Cedar Key on this year's list of America's 11 most endangered historic places, recognizing it as one of the country's greatest treasures facing an even greater threat. Cedar Key is an archipelago of small islands off Florida's west coast. The area serves as a unique historical representation of Old Florida, with its small coastal communities integrating fishing and local businesses that make it attractive for small-scale tourism. This historic Florida staple continues to recover from the hurricanes that have ravaged it over the last three years, especially Helene in 2024. Inclusion on this year's list may help bring a spotlight to the risks small, isolated coastal communities such as Cedar Key face when up against severe storms. 'We hope for Cedar Key to be a story of community resilience instead of endangerment,' said National Trust President Carol Quillen. 'With the increasing threats of severe weather events and rising sea levels, we must turn our attention to the small, historic, often isolated coastalcommunities that need our support.' Cedar Key Mayor Jeff Webb spoke at an event honoring the city's inclusion and shared his vision for recovery and the future of Cedar Key. 'The people of Cedar Key are working hard to keep heritage going into the future,' Webb said. 'We remember the past but are not staying in it. We want to move forward not by losing the heritage and charm but finding a new evolution for Old Florida. Finding how we keep Old Florida but not stay still.' The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization working to save America's historic places. To view the full list, visit the National Trust's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
