In a story of human endurance, a man who had been missing for two weeks was discovered floating on a life raft in the Pacific Ocean Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced the rescue on social media platform “X”, revealing that the man was one of two passengers on the Evening, a 43-foot boat that had set sail from Grays Harbor, Washington, on October 12.
It is especially incredible in that the U.S. Coast Guard had officially suspended its extensive search covering 14,000 square miles off the coast over eight hours Wednesday and extended condolences to family members of the missing mariners.
The USCG Pacific Northwest disclosed that a group of good Samaritans found the man approximately 70 miles off Cape Flattery in the northwest extremity of Washington State.
The tale took an extraordinary turn when it was reported that the man had survived his ordeal by subsisting on salmon for thirteen days.
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According to an NBC News affiliate in Seattle, KING, the man was located by a group of fishermen who were out on a fishing trip.
“We pulled him on board. He gave me a big hug and it was emotional,” said Ryan Planes, one of the individuals involved in the serendipitous rescue.
Upon discovery, the individual was promptly ferried to shore by the Canadian Coast Guard and was reported to be in stable condition as of Thursday evening, according to statements from the U.S. Coast Guard.
As for the second passenger on the Evening, that individual remains unaccounted for, and an ongoing investigation is underway. At the time of this report, the U.S. Coast Guard had not yet responded to an NBC News request for additional comment on the incident.
It is a miracle this man was found at all.