Dylan Gartenmayer: Free diver swept away by Gulf Stream and surrounded by sharks rescued by family
KEY WEST, FLORIDA: Dylan Gartenmayer, a free diver who was swept away by the Gulf Stream was rescued by his family after he went missing from the Florida Keys. On Thursday, January 19, a strong current took away Gartenmayer and he drifted away from his boat after he resurfaced. Following the incident, his friends informed his family and the US Coast Guard who rushed to begin their search to locate him before sunset.
Meanwhile, the diver used his experience and smartly used a bamboo stick that he found and utilized it to keep himself afloat. During his family's desperate search, he attempted to get back to the reef by swimming through the shark-infested water for almost two miles. In a video on social media, Gartenmayer said, "I was watching the sun drop pretty quickly. I just saw a reef shark swim past me," he said. "I had a bunch of bait start blowing up around, I could see mackerel skyrocketing", he further added.
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Gartenmayer's rescue mission
The young diver who began diving at the age of 11 described his rescue experience as he recalled how he used the buoys to help himself from staying afloat and about the rescue mission which was unable to locate him, according to Daily Mail. "I was starting to shiver at that point and my hands were starting to feel a little numb, and so were my toes, so I knew this was starting to get serious. I had a small plane flying above but they didn't see me. About 30 minutes later they flew back again, still didn't see me."
As the evening gradually grew dark, the diver's family who went on searching Gartenmayer on his grandfather's boat miraculously found spotted him. "By some miracle, my parents and everybody else on board my grandfather's boat ended up driving and basically landing right on top of me. I could hear the engines running and I knew from there that was actually my grandfather's boat."
Talking to NBC6, Tabitha, mother of Gartenmayer told, "As natives of Key West, we love the ocean. I was spearfishing with Dylan in my belly," while the rescued son said, "And I do a lot of deep free diving, so I like to go over 100 plus feet on a single breath."
Six miles from the coast, Gartenmayer and two of his friends went fishing and diving on Thursday before the incident took place. As the group decided to swim back following irregular wave conditions, Gartenmayer went on to take a final dive. He swept away by the currents to a depth of 150 feet from 35 feet and for around two minutes, he remained submerged underwater.
