The two 16-year-old girls were rescued on Tuesday, March 18, after going missing on a water excursion in Florida the previous day
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The fisherman who rescued the two 16-year-old girls who went missing while paddleboarding in Florida are speaking out about finding the teenagers.
Alex Jeffries, Will Pauling and Russ Coon spotted the teenagers on a “raft” on Tuesday, March 18, as rescue teams and volunteers searched for the girls after they went missing during an excursion in Ceder Key the previous day, ABC News reported.
“As we were moving along, Alex saw something unsure and said, ‘Hey that looks like a raft,’ ” Coon said on Good Morning America on March 19. “And as we pointed the boat towards the girls, they stood up and started waving at us and clearly we waved back.”
The pair were stuck in an oyster reef for 16 hours before they were rescued, according to the outlet.
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“The high tide kind of pushed them up into that area … and kind of held on to that island and that’s where we found them,” Pauling said.
According to ABC News, the girls told the fishermen they saw the rescue helicopter “fly over three times” and “tried to signal it,” before they were eventually spotted and rescued.
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“And they couldn’t leave the paddleboard because the oyster shells are so sharp and they were barefoot,” Coon explained. “So they couldn’t go to the spotlight [of the helicopter] so they were just hoping that it would go over the top of them.”
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in an email to PEOPLE that the teenagers were located “approximately 14 miles South East of Cedar Key, near Yankeetown.” They were found “with a few scratches but otherwise healthy.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a statement to PEOPLE that the girls were found at around 8:20 a.m. local time on March 18.
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Pauling told ABC News the teens were “a little cut up” and “real cold.” “They seemed like they were in good spirits in a bad situation,” Jeffries added.
The teenagers were reported missing the day before after they were last seen at around 4:00 p.m. “paddling toward Cedar Key from Atsena Otie,” according to the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page.
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The FWC said in a statement to PEOPLE, “On Monday, March 17, at approximately 5:00 p.m., the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) responded alongside multiple agencies and community volunteers to search for two 16-year-old girls reported missing while paddleboarding in Cedar Key.”
“…At approximately 8:20 a.m. (March 18), a Good Samaritan spotted the missing girls on an island south of Waccasassa near Lowes Bay and called 911. An airboat operator from Ozello Keys Marina reached the girls and transported them to the Waccasassa boat ramp, where they were reunited with their family before being evaluated at a nearby hospital.”
“We are grateful for the overwhelming response from partner agencies in Levy and surrounding communities, the support from Cedar Key City Commissioner Jeff Webb, the fishing community, and the public,” said Maj. Scott Lee, FWC North Central Regional Commander.
“Our officers were committed to searching until they were found, and this is the best outcome we could ask for,” Lee added, per the statement.
