(WSVN) - Deputies in North Florida rescued a boater who fell overboard with the help of a good Samaritan.
The quick thinking hero was only minutes away when he received a call from a fisherman, telling him that his friend was fighting for his life. He had fallen during a fishing trip in Saint Mary Lake last Thursday, near the Florida-Georgia border.
“There’s a gentleman in the water right off Fort Clinch,” said the caller. “One guy can’t get him back up on the boat. They are struggling really hard. He’s hanging on by an anchor line.”
Video shows the man, identified as Mr. Seymour, falling overboard while attempting to raise his anchor.
Another man, who was on the boat with the victim, called for help, but local authorities were surprisingly not his first call.
“I got a call from my buddy saying his fishing partner fell overboard, trying to pull the anchor,” said Hunter Howell, the good Samaritan who rushed in to help.
He was only minutes away when he received a call from the fisherman. Video shows the moment he reached his friend’s boat.
“When I got there, all I saw was Mr. Seymour hanging on to the boat like this to the boat anchor,” he said. “When I tried to grab him and felt how cold he was, I kind of feared the worst.”
According to him, Mr. Seymour, who is in his 70s, couldn’t loosen his grip o the rope. He said his hands and body were cold after being the 64 degree water or nearly an hour.
“I pried his hands loose, and that’s when Nassau County got his boat in close enough for me to transfer him over,” Howell said.
He had on a life jacket and was brought back onto his boat with the help of a deputy.
Authorities say Seymour showed signs of severe exhaustion and hypothermia, however he is okay.
Howell says he is sure that they’ll be back on the water fishing together again soon.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.