Man Swims to Save Family after Fishing Trip Disaster
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.11.13
John Franklin Riggs, 46, faced a stark decision after his boat capsized two miles from shore in Maryland’s Tangier Sound and floated a further five miles out from land. His father, along with his sister, niece, and nephew, clung to the side of the drifting boat and waited for rescue.
On the evening of July 9, the Riggs family’s boat was caught in a storm during what had been an idyllic fishing trip. The vessel took on water and overturned, stranding the anglers in the water. Riggs made the decision to swim for help, but it was not an easy choice to make. According to the Salisbury Daily Times, the journey to shore took him five hours through jellyfish-infested waters. In the dark, Riggs scrambled up the rocky shoreline and had strength enough to reach the house of Angela Byrd in the early morning.
“He said, ‘I’ve been swimming since sundown; I need help,’ ” she told the Daily Times.
After a quick rest as emergency responders gathered, Riggs was back on the water and leading a Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rescue boat to his family. A combined effort by the DNR, U.S. Coast Guard, state police, and volunteer firefighters located the capsized boat and retrieved the anglers, who were still in the water. They were treated for minor injuries and are recuperating now.
“I’ve never been so happy to see search boats in my life,” said Contressa Riggs. “It took [John] five hours to swim ashore. He had to stop and grab a crab pot buoy and rest, then swim.”
Sergeant Brian Albert of the Maryland Natural Resources Police speculated that the family might have been rescued even if Riggs did not make the swim, but attributed their survival to the life jackets they had on.
“It is lucky they put life jackets on,” Albert said. “The life jackets are what saved their lives.”
