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 Today.com.
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.
‘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.’
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 (pictured)
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
When Bartell asked them what happened, the girls were initially quiet – until he started joking with them
Bartell snapped a heartwarming photo of the girls, arms around each other, smiling through exhaustion as they returned to shore
‘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.
Local fishermen Will Pauling and Alex Jefferies, who were part of the widespread search efforts, spotted the girls frantically waving for help just after 10 am on March 18
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’
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 up…and 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.’ (The Mail Online)
Best Friends Aged 16 Lost At SEA After Going Paddleboarding
Best friends Avery Bryan (left) and Eva Aponte (right) 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
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 Today.com.
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.
‘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.’
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 (pictured)
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
When Bartell asked them what happened, the girls were initially quiet – until he started joking with them
Bartell snapped a heartwarming photo of the girls, arms around each other, smiling through exhaustion as they returned to shore
‘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.
Local fishermen Will Pauling and Alex Jefferies, who were part of the widespread search efforts, spotted the girls frantically waving for help just after 10 am on March 18
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’
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 up…and 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.’ (The Mail Online)