A couple who went missing while diving have described how they were rescued after nearly 40 hours at sea.
During that time, officials said, Kim and Nathan Maker were never separated, wading in waters miles off the Texas coast in desperate need of rescue.
The Oklahoma residents were spotted by plane just hours before the search was called off, an outcome that family and friends describe as nothing short of a miracle as storm surge threatened to swallow the couple whole.
The rescue occurred in the notoriously treacherous Gulf of Mexico early Friday, 36 hours after the pair were caught in a rip current that separated them from their group on Wednesday.
A day of searching yielded no results, as other divers recalled to news stations in the Sooner State about how they lost sight of the Makers.
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Kim and Nathan Maker were never apart for a second on Wednesday or Thursday, despite wading in waters miles off the Texas coast for more than a day and a half.
The Oklahoma residents were spotted by a plane just hours before the search was called off, an outcome family and friends are calling nothing short of a miracle as storm surge threatened to swallow the couple whole. Infrared footage from the rescue plane can be seen here
“It was raining so hard you couldn’t see out,” recalled diver Lisa Shearin. Fox 19 Now Sunday how inclement weather struck in the middle of the dive.
“There was a storm, and the winds and waves were atrocious,” he said.
While others made it safely to the ship, the Creators were nowhere to be seen, she and others said.
Charles Owen, a relative of the couple, described how the separation occurred in a stretch of ocean near the town of Matagorda.
“A huge swell comes in and completely engulfs Kim and Nathan,” said Owen, Nathan’s uncle.
‘When the waves recede, they are nowhere to be found.
“A storm was approaching and all the divers had surfaced and were preparing to return to the ship,” he added. Oklahoma News 4.
“Meanwhile, the waves came and swallowed them all.”
Nathan and Kim then inflated their safety devices in a successful attempt to return to the surface, relatives and Coast Guard officials said.
“The rain was so heavy you couldn’t see outside,” diver Lisa Shearin recalled to Fox 19 Now on Sunday about how the bad weather hit them in the middle of the dive.
“A huge swell comes in and completely engulfs Kim and Nathan,” said Charles Owen, Nathan’s uncle. “When the swell recedes, they are nowhere to be seen.”
But by then, the storm, seen early Wednesday night, had become too powerful, witnesses said, and soon the Markers were miles away from where the group had submerged.
“It was very scary,” Owen said of the search, which spanned 1,656 square miles and lasted about 36 hours.
It all started around 7 p.m. Wednesday, when he and other family members received a call from the Coast Guard, saying the couple had gone missing that morning while snorkeling in the Gulf, he said.
After a day and a half, “we’d pretty much given up hope,” the Edmond man said, recalling how network officials had set out and just finished searching but had failed to find anything.
It wasn’t until the 36th hour when officials were about to call off the search that a discovery was made, officials said, in the dark of night, miles away from the initial dive site.
“This plane was in the air last night doing its last flight off the grid and Nathan and Kim had their dive lights out and were doing the SOS to point at the bottom of the plane,” Owen said of how it happened.
“The plane saw them on a last pass. Then the boats came to the rescue.”
The discovery put an end to what many had begun to suspect was a futile effort and provided proof of the couple’s undying devotion, Owen said.
A 1,656-square-mile, roughly 36-hour search ensued after the pair failed to return to the boat like other members of their group (seen here).
“A storm was coming in and all the divers had surfaced and were preparing to get back on board,” Owen explained. “As the 16 were getting on, the swell came in and engulfed them all.” The boat is seen here after the two failed to get on board.
“Even when the waves came, they found them; they were together,” he said.
“We thank everyone for their concern and prayers. This miracle was the work of the Coast Guard at God’s command.”
Shearin, the only diver in the group of 18 who spoke about the scare, added: “People don’t survive that and don’t have a story to tell.”
“They have a bigger purpose, obviously,” he said, growing emotional at times.
“God truly forgave them.”
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard issued its own statement Friday, hours after the 1 a.m. rescue 15 miles off the coast of Matagorda.
“Corpus Christi Sector watchstanders received notification Wednesday afternoon that the divers were last seen surfacing in unfavorable weather conditions and were not seen again after conditions improved,” the bulletin reads.
Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crews launched along with the crew of a 45-foot medium response vessel from Station Port O’Connor to search for the divers.
‘The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Edgar Culbertson was also ordered to assist in the search efforts.
It wasn’t until the 36th hour, when officials were about to call off the search, that a discovery was made, officials said, in the dead of night, miles from the initial dive site. The two were floating together in the water, using their flashlights to give an SOS.
‘The crew of the Ocean Sentry aircraft detected a flashing light in the water while searching and directed the divers’ location to the cutter.
“The divers were transported to Coast Guard Station Freeport and were reportedly in stable condition,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, the couple has yet to issue their own statement. As of Monday morning, it was unclear whether they were back at their home in Edmond.
