Fishermen explain the rescue of a teenager who drifted 16 hours off the Gulf Coast

Earlier on Tuesday, a trio of fishermen in small boats experienced lifelong catches as they survived the water and cold temperatures off the coast of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The teenager, identified by family and friends on social media as Eva Aponte and Avery Brian, survived on water for 16 hours at a temperature soaked in her low 40s. The rescuer explained that it was cold, shaking as it cuts its hands and feet from the razor’s sharp oyster shell, but otherwise it’s fine.

The teens were blown off the course at about 4:30pm on Monday, near the fishing village, by strong winds, while wearing life-saving public jacketless shorts and sweatshirts.

As the darkness fell and the temperature dropped, the chances of survival also decreased. A massive search of Gulf Coast waters by the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Sheriff’s Office and a fleet of volunteer civilian ships continued unsuccessfully throughout the night.

Inglis captain and fellow anglers Alex Jeffries from nearby Yankee Town and Russell Coon of Clermont have abolished plans to join the search for a snook fishing morning early Tuesday morning. They were on the water looking for teens by 8:30am right after sunrise and found them within 30 minutes.

“I tried to leave as quickly as possible and it paid off,” Pauling said in a phone interview.

Jeffries said he told the teens after the rescue.

The teens and their families did not immediately respond to phone messages on Tuesday to discuss their ordeal.

The winds drove the teens off the course and returned from Atocena Otikey, an unadmitted building on the historic, uninhabited island, about half a mile from Cedar Key. Paddles are popular, usually with good tide, mild winds, and are generally safe if they are below 5 mph. The winds on Monday had more than doubled.

It was not clear at first where the teenagers had drifted out. The tides and currents may have pushed teens into the Gulf Coast, far from the coast. After all, their inflatable paddleboards behaved like sails, pushing them over Waccasassa Bay towards a mangrove point off the coast of Yankee Town about 15 miles away by a southeastern wind.

“It was a huge object. It’s treated like a balloon,” said Crystal River captain Gary Bartel Jr. He picked them up on an airboat from a small boat in Poling.

The photo shows a rescuer carrying a whimsical teenager carrying his shoulder on his shoulder, crossing the oyster bar towards the airboat. On board, Bartel and his 8-year-old son, Brody, handed out the girl’s snacks and coat from her back. Bartel then brought them to families and officials at Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park.

“They had a great spirit to two young women who were stuck in the middle of the night, especially in the strong winds we had, drifting from 15 miles from where they were,” Bartel said.

Sue Colson, mayor of the picturesque cedar keys, said Gulf waters are more dangerous than they look.

“We see the photo cards as perfect, they look smooth and beautiful,” Colson said. “You’re just not at risk here. That’s great to feel, by the way.”

The story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Reporters can be contacted at diego.perdomo@ufl.edu. You can donate here to support our students.