A diver left 6 miles from the Florida Keys was found by accident when Two policemen are off duty He thought it was an injured seabird.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office reported in a July 27 news release that the “bird” they saw a quarter of a mile away turned out to be a human waving its arms desperately.
The name of the rescued diver was not released, but the rescuers were identified as Lieutenant David Wolf and Lieutenant Eric Thoresen of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said the two men and their wives were fishing when the rescue took place in the first week of July.
“I thought I saw what might be a bird on the water flapping its wing. It was like she was injured,” Wolfe said in the post.
He turned the boat around and headed towards the bird to investigate. But as they grow closer, Thoresen realizes he is a man “in distress and getting off the ground.”
“What they found was a diver who was swept off his boat by the current. A boat that was later found about two miles away!” the sheriff’s office said.
Wolf notified the US Coast Guard and learned that a lost diver alert call had just been issued, including the coordinates of the man’s boat.
“Call her luck, or call her sober even on her days off, or call it what you will. We might just call it a miracle,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
“We are happy to report that the diver returned safe and sound and that the helpers were able to land some fish by the end of the day as well!”
Details of how the man was separated from his boat have not been released.
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