Moment family and friends on boat spot and rescue freediver who was missing for hours
The emotional moment a missing freediver’s family spotted their loved one alive in the water before being reunited with him has gone viral after being caught on camera.
Dylan Gartenmayer, 22, had not been seen for several hours after being swept along under the Florida waves by a strong current and resurfacing around a mile away.
Video shot on a boat packed with his family and friends, shows them spotting Mr Gartenmayer in the water, with one person exclaiming “there he is!”, while a second shouts “Dylan”, before others start screaming and jumping up and down with joy.
A second clip, also filmed by his cousin Priscilla Gartenmayer, shows people stretching out their arms to try to catch him as he is taken along at speed by the waves.
And then seconds later he is able to make his way to the back of the boat, and to safety, where he is hugged.
Mr Gartenmayer was spotted in the water
The videos have now gone viral with millions of views on TikTok.
Before he went missing, two of his friends had been keeping watch on a boat at the original site where he dived, which was by a reef, several miles from the Florida Keys.
Below the surface, Mr Gartenmayer was freediving at a depth of about 35ft, when the current pushed him down to 150ft.
He said he was underwater for almost two minutes, as he held his breath.
“So that’s how I ended up getting separated,” he said. “They were mainly looking down, thinking I blacked out from a lack of oxygen.”
‘Scariest boat ride of our life’
The alarm was raised and his family then went out on his grandfather’s boat looking for him – described as “the scariest ride of our life” – and were assisted in their search by the coastguard.
Mr Gartenmayer told the US news channel NBC6 that after he resurfaced he swam just over a mile to a channel marker, while clutching bamboo which he found in the water.
His loved ones put out their arms to try to catch him
His mother, Tabitha, said that during the family’s search, her son’s friend Joel spotted an unusual sight on the water – buoys that seemed to be tied together.
Mr Gartenmayer had cut and bound together mooring balls to make a makeshift raft. He said he “ended up cutting three of those from reef, tying up a little hammock”.
Shortly after seeing the buoys, he was spotted.
“I could hear a boat humming up behind me,” said the 22-year-old. The vessel he heard heading towards him was packed with his family members.
Once on board he was transferred on to a coastguard boat and taken ashore. His body temperature was low at first but once it stabilised he was then released just an hour later.
‘The smartest, most experienced diver I know’
His cousin, Priscilla Gartenmayer, recounted what happened on Facebook.
She wrote: “After calling the fam together we hopped on the contender and had the scariest boat ride of our life out to his last-known coordinates.
“God was definitely on our side because as soon as we stopped running out and started looking, we spotted him right away at almost the exact coordinates we were given.”
He added: “That second video was the moment we all laid eyes on him, I can’t stop watching it.
“He’s the smartest, most experienced diver I know on the water, he swam about two miles and before he lost his energy he grabbed three buoys and made a hammock for himself to float on!”
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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