Coast Guard Rescues Couple That Went Missing On Rafting Trip
COHASSET (CBS) -- The Coast Guard said Tuesday morning they had found a couple that went missing on a rafting trip Monday afternoon.
Kathleen, 52, and Joseph Earner, 55, were found around 4 a.m. about eight miles northwest of Rocky Beach in Cohasset.
"I think they were planning on staying right next to the coast, but the winds that were out of the south happened to just carry them right off shore, carried them out to sea," Coast Guard PO Luke Schaffer said.
They were brought back to Coast Guard Station Point Allerton, but the crew of the boat that picked them up said the two were not injured.
"We got them on-board, I could tell that they were quite visibly weakened by their ordeal probably due to their lack of supplies that they had on-board," said Coast Guard PO Zach Simon. "They were in the early stages of hypothermia."
The couple were initially reported missing by their son, who said they went out in a green and yellow raft Monday afternoon but had not returned. He filed the report around 1 a.m., and the couple had not been seen since 4:30 p.m.
One Coast Guard vessel and one helicopter searched Massachusetts Bay for the couple, and after a three-hour search, the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter spotted them when they flicked a lighter they had on-board.
"We are happy to bring this couple home alive and well, but urge mariners to remember to have the proper safety gear when on the water," said Coast Guard Lt. Jennifer Hertzler in a release. "Wearing life jackets and having a radio are just some basic examples of what mariners need to have on the water to be safe."
Cohasset's Harbormaster and Cohasset Police also aided in the search.
"It feels really good to be able to find people alive and see the look in their eyes when they see us pull up alongside them," said Coast Guard PO Derek McGarigal.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports