Rescued At Sea

 There are few places worse for something to go wrong than in the ocean. Even fewer places where you would want to be alone, facing challenges like fatigue, thirst, starvation, drowning, or even being on the menu for a whole host of man-eating predators. But that is exactly where Dylan Gartenmayer wound up during a free dive adventure on one of his favorite reefs. As he dove down and honed in on his next target for the spear-fishing harpoon, a rogue wave and its associated current pinned him to the ocean bottom and moved him along the sea floor at a rapid rate.

Dylan out spear-fishing

By the time Dylan surfaced for a much needed breath, the boat that was hosting the adventure was almost out of view and definitely out of earshot. His cries and screams for help were left in the wind and no one was able to see where the man had been swept. Though proper procedures were followed with the Coast Guard alerted, when news of Gartenmayer's predicament reached his family, they were not willing to wait for his rescue. Instead, his mom Tabitha, friend Jamie, a buddy named Sean, his cousin Pricilla, and grandpa Edward loaded up in their family boat and literally "sped off."

"After getting the call we didn't even really have to discuss it, we knew we were going out there," says cousin Pricilla. The marina camera caught their boat racing out to the waters where Dylan's last known coordinates were and consequently the familiar reef system that he loved to frequent, which helped the family hone in on a search perimeter. Inside Edition asked Gartenmayer if he had thought his life was over to which he replied, "Yeah, at one point when that sun had set, this could definitely be the end." But it wasn't. Soon grandpa's boat spotted the man after four hours in the water alone and screams of blissful relief resounded. "There he is!" they shouted as his floating silhouette became visible on the waters horizon. "Words cannot describe it" grandpa retorted as reporters asked what it was like to find their missing loved one. Mom echoed the sentiment stating, "it was really a miracle." Indeed it was!

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