Missing teen found alive day after being swept out to sea
Darcy Deefholts, a 19-year-old surfer, was found alive on North Solitary Island, about eight miles off the northern coast of New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday after spending a night adrift at sea.
The Context
The multiagency search effort began after Deefholts’ family discovered his clothes at a beach access point at Wooli, east of Grafton, ABC News in Australia reported. The family alerted police and Marine Rescue NSW to his disappearance.
Marine Rescue NSW
What To Know
Deefholts was seen fishing at the Wooli break wall around 3 p.m. Wednesday. His family found his bike, shoes and clothes about three miles north.
His father, Terry Deefholts, asked the public for assistance on Facebook. “HELP – I NEED BOATS, BEACH WALKERS, DRONES AND 4WDs and PLANES AT FIRST LIGHT,” Terry wrote.
Marine Rescue NSW Inspector John Murray said in a press release that crews searched the waters from Bare Point in the north to Freshwater Beach in the south beginning around 10 p.m. Wednesday. The search was temporarily suspended overnight before resuming the next morning.
Darcy was found about 9 a.m. on North Solitary Island after drifting out to sea on his longboard. Terry called his son’s survival “one in a million” in comments to The Daily Telegraph.
A rescue skipper told ABC News that Darcy was found cold and suffering from mild exposure, but he was not injured. He was taken to Grafton Base Hospital for assessment.
What People Are Saying
Terry Deefholts, in comments to ABC News: “It’s kind of surreal. I was at the point of thinking the absolute worst.”
Family member Melissa Smith, in comments to ABC News: “He’d obviously gone out too far on his longboard and he couldn’t get back. He’s a survivor, a strong boy, he would have known that was a safe place I guess.”
Marine Rescue NSW, on Facebook: “Our search crews from Marine Rescue Wooli & Marine Rescue Coffs Harbour were jumping for joy this morning when the call came across their radios that the missing 19-year-old man on the North Coast was found safe on an island off Wooli. What an incredible outcome!”
What Happens Next
A spokesperson for the Northern NSW Local Health District told ABC News that Darcy was in a stable condition at Grafton Base Hospital and “in good spirits and being supported by family.”
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