After spending a harrowing 40 hours alone and adrift in the ocean, a married couple from Oklahoma is grateful to be rescued and alive.
Nathan and Kim Maker were scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico on July 24 when a current ripped them away from their diving party. The remaining divers had returned safely to the boat when they noticed that the Makers were “nowhere to be seen.”
A family member to the Makers, Charles Owen, said the incident happened near the Mexican city of Matagorda. He said “a huge swell” rolled in and seemed to consume Kim and Nathan. When it retreated back out to sea, he said, “they’re nowhere to be found.”
A storm was approaching, which was why the diving party made their way back to the boat. As sixteen of the party climbed back aboard, the huge wave swallowed the Makers. But fortunately, the couple had inflated their life preserving equipment and popped back up to the surface. They spent nearly two days clinging to each other, praying for rescue, but wondering if help would ever arrive.
It very nearly did not. A search and rescue effort was launched as soon as the party realized they had lost the makers, but nothing turned up for more than a day. The weather conditions were just the type that rescuers hope they will not encounter. Diver Lisa Shearin said the rain was coming down so hard that you could not see anything at all. “Atrocious” is how she described the waves and storm winds they faced. Family relative Owen said the situation was “very scary.”
Rescuers set out to find the Makers on Wednesday, July 24, at about 7 pm local time. The Coast Guard had just called the Maker family to alert them that the couple had disappeared in the storm. After searching for a day-and-a-half, said Charles Owen, the family member related to the missing couple, rescuers were about to abandon hope and call off the search at the 36th hour. They made one final pass over the grid they imposed on the area to keep track of which area had already been searched, when a “miracle” happened.
On Friday, July 26, a plane spotted the couple actually wading in water several miles away from the Texas coast. Rescue boats swooped in to scoop up the couple, who had clung to each other and stayed together the entire time.
Charles Owen gave huge praise to the Coast Guard and other rescuers, saying the effort was a miracle from God carried through by Coast Guard personnel.
One member of the original diving party was emotionally overwhelmed. Lisa Shearin said that “people don’t survive” the sort of rip currents that took the Makers out to sea. She said this showed him that God has a plan for the couple, a “greater purpose.”
The Coast Guard reported on the rescue operation, noting that the Corpus Christi division were alerted to the emergency on Wednesday, July 26. The Guard launched an MH-65 helicopter, an “Ocean Sentry” rescue craft, and a 45-foot long fully crewed boat to assist with the rescue.
Kim and Nathan Maker were taken to a Coast Guard facility where they were described as in “stable” condition. There is no word yet on whether they have returned to Oklahoma.