Teen helps with rescue of 8 people on capsized boat off Sanibel Island coast

By Kennedy Mason

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    LEE COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — A teen named Alex is being hailed as a hero after jumping into dangerous waters off the coast of Sanibel to help rescue crews save eight people from a capsized boat.

Witness Misty Dowling described the scene at Lighthouse Beach on Saturday afternoon as something she had never seen before.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life where you see it literally going down,” Dowling said.

Dowling recounted how everyone noticed the boat struggling offshore.

“Everyone kind of noticed the boat offshore, and it was struggling. We could see half of the boat in like under the water, like inside the water. We knew that wasn’t normal,” she said.

The 23-foot boat, carrying eight people, capsized, leaving locals in shock.

“It’s really scary to think about, especially that it happened, like right here. I mean, we come here like all the time. It’s just crazy to think about that. Something like that could happen, like near us,” said Caitlin Tinsley, a Sanibel resident.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, Sanibel Police Department, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission all responded to the incident. Video footage captured the moment with a voice urging, “grab that!”

Among the rescuers were two good Samaritans, including Alex, the son of Dowling’s friend. Dowling described Alex’s heroic actions: “The lady was trying to hold on, the like she was inside the boat when the left side was picked up, but she fell out. The man that was in there in the water trying to help, he wasn’t really bringing her in or I don’t know if he was struggling. I don’t really know. but I know Alex was the one that grabbed her and brought her in.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that one person from the boat was taken to the hospital but is okay, and no one else was injured.

“It’s a good community over here. Like she said, we come here all the time, so just the fact that people were able to step in is really cool,” said Taylor Sabel, another Sanibel resident.

The boat had been anchored but took on water when it tried to leave the beach. Dowling mentioned the rough conditions, saying, “I actually told my daughter I didn’t want her to go in the water because the water was real rough.”

Tinsley added, “I’ve only been boating a few times, but it is definitely more dangerous when it’s windy like this.”

Several other people helped pull the boat to shore when it got closer. Dowling applauded the community, and especially Alex, for his heroic work.

Alex’s mother shared that he lost his favorite shirt while trying to save the woman, but the T-shirt company is giving him a new one free of charge.

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