Man fell from boat with throttle engaged and it left him swimming off Alabama coast

A boat that mysteriously ran aground with its throttle engaged and no one aboard eventually led to the discovery of a man clinging to a channel marker off Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

He survived but was showing signs of hypothermia when rescued, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release. The boater’s identity has not been released.

It happened late Saturday, May 21, off Dauphin Island, a barrier island that separates Mobile Bay from the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S Coast Guard sea and air units joined the search after the Alabama Department of Marine Resources reported a “24-foot fishing boat was found aground with the throttle engaged and no one aboard.”

A team from marine resources eventually “located and rescued the 54-year-old-male clinging to a channel marker,” the Coast Guard said.

He was taken to the USA Health University Hospital in Mobile, “where he was last reported to be in stable condition,” the Coast Guard said.

Investigators did not say where the channel marker was located or how long the man had been clinging to it when he was rescued.

“We are thankful he was recovered,” Lt. j.g. Jason Markesbery of the Coast Guard said in the release.

“I would like to highlight the criticality of wearing a life jacket and properly utilizing a power-driven vessel’s kill switch to mitigate unforeseen situations such as these.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Man fell from boat with throttle engaged and it left him swimming off Alabama coast."