A man swam for five hours off of the Maryland coast to reach help for his family after their boat capsized in a storm Tuesday night. After climbing ashore, John Franklin Riggs found a phone and called 911, sending rescuers to the 16-foot Carolina skiff that had capsized near Deal Island, on the Eastern Shore.
鈥淗e came to the right house,鈥 Angela Byrd told the Daily Times, who found the 46-year-old swimmer聽 outside, soaking wet, and barefoot.
鈥淗e said, `I鈥檝e been swimming since sundown; I need help,鈥欌 she told the .
In addition to Riggs, four family members were aboard the vessel when it capsized, including a 3-year-old boy, a 70-year-old retired commercial waterman, and a 9-year-old girl.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been so happy to see search boats in my life,鈥 Emily Horn, 9, told . 鈥淚t took him five hours to swim ashore. He had to stop and grab a crab pot buoy and rest, then swim. We clinged to the side of the boat and got stung by sea nettles in the dark.鈥