Couple survives 36 hours lost at sea after vanishing while diving, officials say
.png "Couple rescued after being stranded at sea for 36 hours.")
An Oklahoma couple was rescued after being lost at sea for 36 hours, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Nathan and Kim Maker went diving with a group off the Texas coast, according to KOCO.
The couple went missing 15 miles offshore from Matagorda on July 24, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
“There was a storm moving in and the divers had all surfaced and (were) going to prepare to get back on the boat,” Nathan’s uncle Charles Owen told KFOR. “As the 16 got in, in the meantime, the swell comes in and engulfed all of them.”
Owen told the outlet that the Makers inflated their safety devices, but the storm was strong, and they vanished.
Officials said the couple was last seen “surfacing in unfavorable weather conditions and was not seen after conditions cleared.”
Search crews began to look for the couple by water and air but had no luck finding them for 36 hours.
“This plane happened to be in the air last night making its last run outside the grid and Nathan and Kim had their diving flashlights and they were doing the S.O.S. to point at the plane’s bottom,” Owen told KFOR.
The couple was spotted flashing a light in the water, officials said.
“Even when the swell came over, they found them together,” Owen told KOCO.
The U.S. Coast Guard shared a video capturing the rescue. The couple can be seen floating in the water.
“We witnessed the hands of God as we were pulled from the water. Those hands were the U.S. coast guard. We will never be able to repay our debts to the brave men and women of the United States coast guard,” Nathan Maker said in a Facebook post.
The couple was last listed in stable condition, the Coast Guard said.
Matagorda is a roughly 100-mile drive southwest of Houston.
This story was originally published July 28, 2024 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Couple survives 36 hours lost at sea after vanishing while diving, officials say."
