Edmond couple who disappeared while scuba diving found alive after 36 hours at sea
A miracle rescue of an Edmond couple took place around 1 a.m. on Friday in the Gulf of Mexico. They disappeared while scuba diving off the coast of Texas and their loved ones feared the worst.
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — A miracle rescue of an Edmond couple took place around 1 a.m. on Friday in the Gulf of Mexico. They disappeared while scuba diving off the coast of Texas and their loved ones feared the worst.
However, they eventually got incredible news when they were found alive.
It was roughly a 36-hour search that thankfully led to good news Friday morning for the Maker family. Their loved one’s were found safe in the ocean miles offshore.
"It's a miracle,” Charles Owen said. The uncle of Nathan Maker, who was lost at sea with his wife Kim.
It’s a miracle that plays out before your eyes. New video from a coast guard aircraft spotted two figures around 20 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico early Friday morning. Those figures were Nathan and Kim Maker of Edmond.
"We'd already practically have given up hope,” Owen said.
Owen said it was around 7 p.m. Wednesday when they got a call from the Coast Guard saying the couple had disappeared earlier that morning while scuba diving with a group.
"There was a storm moving in and the divers had all surfaced and was going to prepare to get back on the boat,” Owen said. "As the 16 got in, in the meantime, the swell comes in and engulfed all of them."
Nathan and Kim dive often, according to Owen, and take their precautions. They inflated their safety devices to come to the surface, but the storm was too much and they were gone.
“Very scary,” Owen said.
The search was on from there. 1,656 sq. miles and roughly 36 hours later, Owen said he was told they were close to calling off their search after searching the grid they laid out.
"This plane happened to be in the air last night making its last run outside the grid and Nathan and Kim had their diving flashlights and they were doing the S.O.S. to point at the plane's bottom,” Owen said.
The plane saw them on one last pass. Then the boats came to the rescue.
"We thank everybody for their concerns and their prayers,” Owen said. "This miracle was performed by the Coast Guard at God's direction."
Owen said Kim has an infection and Nathan was almost in a diabetic coma when they found him. Both were very dehydrated and had jellyfish stings on them as well.
They also had to swim periodically to keep their body temperatures up. They are in the hospital right now in stable condition.
Owen said he hopes they can come home sometime tomorrow or early next week.