A charter boat captain in Manatee County is to thank for saving the lives of five boaters he found clinging to a capsized canoe in Sarasota Bay Sunday morning.
- Charter boat captain rescued 5 people
- Canoe capsized in Sarasota Bay
- The two men and three children taken to hospitals
Capt. Taylor Rahn says he was taking a group on a fishing excursion at about 10:30 a.m. when he spotted an orange dot in the water.
“We got close to them and then that’s when we saw three young kids,” Rahn said. “The youngest was six years old. The oldest was probably 10 or 11 and two dads capsized in basically a big canoe.”
The boaters told him they had been holding onto the canoe for about an hour before they were discovered.
Rahn says they showed signs that they were succumbing to the elements.
“They were screaming. They were crying. They were scared to death and the young boy was basically going in and out of being conscious,” he said.
The five people were taken by helicopter to hospitals and treated for hypothermia and exposure.
Authorities haven’t released their names or their current conditions.
Rahn says he’s just glad he was at the right place at the right time.
“That's something you don't really encounter that much. Or you wouldn't want to encounter. That God we were there though and we saw them.”