Two 16-year-old girls beat astonishing odds after being swept miles into the Gulf of Mexico during what was supposed to be a short paddleboarding trip — surviving 16 freezing, wave-tossed hours in the dark open sea.
Avery Bryan and Eva Aponte, best friends from Florida, had planned a quick half-mile paddle from Atsena Otie Key to Cedar Key on March 17.
But powerful winds and a fast current turned their leisurely outing into a life-or-death ordeal.
“Only an intervention from the Good Lord above could have saved those girls,” said Lieutenant Scott Tummond of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, stunned by their survival.
