PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard assisted one woman and three children after they became fatigued swimming near Milford Haven Sunday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads received a phone call from Mathews County 911 dispatch at 4:41 p.m. that a 58-year-old woman and her three young grandchildren were swimming and fatigued in the water near their jet ski approximately one-half mile off Gwynn Island in Hudgins, Virginia.
Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders launched a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station Milford Haven at 4:44 p.m.
The four people in the water were visible from Station Milford Haven, and the RBS crew arrived on scene at 4:45 p.m.
All four were wearing life jackets. The three children were able to swim back to the jet ski, while the woman struggled to tread water and was short of breath.
The RBS crew recovered all four people from the water and brought them back to the station by 4:55 p.m. An EMS team and Mathews County police were waiting on shore to perform medical evaluations.
“The current out there was strong today, and the fact that those four were wearing life jackets may very well have saved their lives,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Theall, the coxswain of the RBS crew. “It doesn’t matter if you’re staying close to shore, the importance of wearing life jackets is immeasurable.”
