Sheriff’s Office helps rescue four mariners in the water

The Sheriff’s Office and our law enforcement partners rescued four people with only two life jackets clinging to a floating cooler Friday in cold conditions in waters off of Conch Key, oceanside.

Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Specialists received a cell phone call at 7:06 a.m. from a person stating he was with three other people not a mile from land in the water. Weather conditions Friday morning were cold and the caller stated they had been in the water a long time. How long remains unclear.

Sheriff’s Office Deputies boarded a good Samaritan’s boat on Conch Key, while Marathon Capt. Don Hiller and Lt. Derek Paul also took Capt. Hiller’s personal boat en route from Marathon. The U.S. Coast Guard and Florid Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boats also scrambled.

Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Specialists kept the caller on the phone while spearheading a multi-agency effort to rescue the mariners. A Deputy on shore was able to spot the four mariners with binoculars and also assisted.

All rescue boats arrived on scene roughly the same time where the four were found in front of Long Key Bridge about a quarter mile from land.

Their boat, if it sank nearby, was totally submerged by the time all the rescuers arrived.

The patients were placed on a Coast Guard boat and taken to Conch Key to waiting paramedics. All four declined transport to the hospital.

The U.S. Coast Guard is the lead agency in the case. The FWC will conduct an investigation into the boat’s sinking.

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