How 2 Teens Survived 16 Hours Lost at Sea On An Inflatable Paddleboard

Another volunteer, Gray Bartell, then transported Avery and Eva back to land on his airboat, noting the girls were visibly shaken up by the incident. 

“They got very quiet when I asked about what happened, so I started joking around with them,” Bartell told TODAY, adding his 8-year-old son Brody helped calm the teens down by offering them a snack. “And that’s when they really started to relax.”

The duo (who haven’t publicly talked about the experience) were later reunited with their families and taken to the hospital, where they were treated for “hypothermia and dehydration” before being discharged on March 20. As for what kept them afloat, Bartell noted the teens’ commitment to staying on the paddle board is “the reason they are alive.” 

Tummond echoed the sentiment, saying, “What Mom and Dad taught them — it stuck. Thank God they were able to remember some of those life skills.”