TAMPA, Fla. — A helicopter crew with the U.S. Coast Guard station in Clearwater was able to rescue a man Sunday out of the mangroves of Anclote Keys.
According to a news release from the armed forces, the man was suffering from symptoms of dehydration and was brought to the hospital for further evaluation.
The man reportedly grounded his boat but then was unable to refloat it. He then tried to go find his friends on the other side of the island to help him but eventually became exhausted.
Pasco County Sheriff's Office marine unit officers alerted watchstanders in St. Petersburg at around 7 p.m. of an "overdue personal watercraft user."
A friend of the man was able to report the situation to officers.
"The Pasco County Sheriff's helicopter spotted the person in the mangroves and vectored us in," Lt. Garrett Hendrickson, the Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater Jayhawk helicopter pilot on scene, said in a statement. "It is because of our partnerships with the sheriff's office and the regular training we do together, that the survivor was rescued safely and quickly."
A Coast Guard Station Sand Key boat crew and helicopter crew with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office helped in the search.