A man and his autistic son, who were swept out to sea in Florida on Saturday night, were forced to tread water for 12 hours before being rescued.
46-year old, Walter Marion had attempted to rescue his 12-year-old son Chris, who had been swept out to sea, at around 7:30pm on Saturday night.
He too was swept out in the dangerous current – his 14-year-old daughter who was on shore, immediately called 911.
By the time rescuers arrived, the father and son could no longer be seen.
The search continued for 12 hours – they were found 13 kilometres east of where they had disappeared.
Marion said he spent most of the time unaware if his son was still alive – it was too dark to see each other.
They were rescued by helicopter, and were taken to Halifax Medical Centre, where they were treated for dehydration.
They are both doing fine.