"It took the family to come together within seconds because that's our baby," the mother said.
After a loved one went missing in the water last week, a Florida family is counting their blessings. On January 19, Dylan Gartenmayer, 22, was free diving in Key West when he got into trouble at sea and had to be rescued by his family, per PEOPLE.
After learning that Gartenmayer was trapped in the open sea, his family acted quickly, and a video of his terrifying rescue culminating in a joyous reunion was taken. Dylan's mother Tabitha "Tabby" Gartenmayer shared that finding her son safe "definitely had to be a miracle" when she appeared with him on Wednesday's broadcast of TODAY. "It had to be God protecting him the whole time, our angels above because for us to land right on him, you can see it was a needle in a haystack out there," she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.
During the interview, Dylan stated that he was spearfishing last Thursday when he drifted about a mile away from the boat that transported him out to sea, per NBC Miami. The individuals he was diving with, whom he had met through Facebook, then "just left" the site without calling the Coast Guard for assistance. "I was just getting dragged further and further and I watched the boat just slowly getting smaller," Dylan said Wednesday.
In the meantime, Dylan's family had learned that he had disappeared while diving. "It was the worst call I ever got in my life," Tabby said Wednesday, recalling the moment her phone rang. She shared about the call, "I couldn't even breathe. Like everything just went away, and I was just standing there stuck."
Soon after, Dylan's family boarded his grandfather's boat and sailed out into the ocean in an effort to find him. The family "did 58 miles per hour nonstop" as they sped across the water in search of their son, according to Tabby. "It took the family to come together within seconds because that's our baby," she said, adding, "And that's what you do. That's how we are. And we are always going to be there to protect our family."
Dylan stated he was battling with visibility of fewer than 10 feet as the sun was lowering. He admitted to Today that seeing that sun dip "was actually kinda making my heart sink."
Dylan had made a raft out of buoys he discovered near a reef. The goal, according to him, was "to get up as high as I can, keep a little warmth, and put less of my body in the water for any potential predators." In the sea, Dylan came across a few different varieties of jellyfish. He shared that he was lucky that the wet suit protected him. As the night fell, Tabby shared that the boat slowed down to try to get a better view.
And then, the family finally spotted Dylan. The young man realized right away that his family had come to his aid. He recalled thinking, "Oh my god, that's my grandpa's boat!"
The moment when Dylan was lifted onto the boat, he gave his mother a big hug! In Dylan's words, that "was the greatest relief ever."
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Xm-wx2UQU
Cover Image Source: YouTube | TODAY
