A video from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows just how close two 15-year-olds got to drifting further out to sea last week.
The pair of unidentified teens, a boy and a girl, were rescued about 1½ miles off Playalinda Beach on March 18 when strong winds and seas hit the area.
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The pair were riding a paddleboard as the waves and wind pushed them eastward.
Florida wildlife officials said authorities at the beach contacted the agency about 2:30 p.m., along with the U.S. Coast Guard after reports the teens were getting further offshore.
Officers with FWC deployed he agency’s 38-foot-long “Seahawk” patrol vessel.
2 Kids Rescued When strong winds pushed two juvenile swimmers more than a mile offshore, beach authorities contacted the...
Posted by MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday, March 23, 2021
The Kennedy Space Center’s security forces joined the effort, keeping track of the teens before FWC’s boat could arrive.
The two can be seen on video sitting on a paddleboard with two rescuers in the water, leading them to the waiting patrol boat.
“The helicopter was about 10 minutes out, but our boat had already gotten to them,” said Chad Weber, spokesman for FWC.
“Our officers got them on the boat and were able to return them back to the beach,” Weber said.
The pair were checked medically, then turned over to their parents.