After being dragged underwater by a strong current, he ended up miles from the first dive.

In dramatic TikTok video, a young diver who had been lost at sea for hours was miraculously saved by his family.

Dylan Gartenmayer, 22, was spearfishing in Key West last week when a strong Gulf Stream current pulled him away from his fellow divers.

Dylan, who claims he free-dives 100+ feet often, decided to go for one more dive when conditions worsened.

The current pulled him to 35 feet, and he was held down by the current for almost two minutes.

Dylan explained to local NBC 6: "So that's why I got separated."

He said that his friends, who he had been diving alongside, were mostly looking down and thought he blacked out due to a lack oxygen.

Dylan claims he was dragged about a mile, and that he was forced to swim another mile to reach a channel marker. He then clung to buoys and driftwood.

He recalled, "There was a lot of bait floating around me and everything." I knew there were large fish that would eat those baits, and that sharks were coming up behind them. I was prepared to fight the night away, but I'm glad that I didn't.

Tabitha Gartenmayer (whose family has called Keys home for generations) received the news that her son was gone.

Tabitha stated that Tabitha and her family have all been on the water before. She explained that she spearfishing with Dylan was something she did in her belly.

She claimed that she received a call from her husband, "Tab," indicating that something was wrong with Dylan. They haven’t seen him for over an hour. From that moment, I felt like I was going to die. I couldn't speak."

Dylan stated that he could see "the coast guard out in the distant to the west" as his family mobilized their rescue mission. Their blue lights and the helicopter moving in a grid pattern were visible to me, just like his driftwood "started drifting away" from him.

Tabitha said, "Let's move," before referring to the viral surveillance video that a neighbor captured of them speeding down a canal. "I'm sure that you've seen the videos where we went a little faster down the canal to save my son's lives."

The concerned mother stated that she had received the coordinates, but that the son was not on them.

They went beyond the coordinates, their eyes scanning the water for signs of light as it was dimming.

Tabitha stated, "Joel glances to the right and sees the buoys," Tabitha added. They then noticed that they appeared to be connected together.

Dylan later stated that he had tied them together to create a "little hammock."

The lost diver recalls, "I was looking to the west looking towards Coast Guard, when I could hear a boat honking up behind me."

He said that his mom had taken my diving gear when the boat arrived. "She started crying, hugging and hugging."

His cousin, Priscilla Gardenmayer, uploaded her videos of the dramatic rescue to TikTok. These videos have quickly gone viral.

"That was very emotional for me. "So, you know, we realize how fortunate we are to still have Dylan here," Priscilla stated.

Dylan for his part said that he would be diving again soon.

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Title: Son Lost at Sea for Hours Found By Mother Searching by Boat in Wild TikTok Videos
Sourced From: toofab.com/2023/01/23/son-lost-at-sea-found-by-mother-tiktok-videos/
Published Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2023 15:28:33 +0000

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