Rescuers find 16-year-old girls trapped on island after overnight search: ‘We’re here, we’re here’Teen girls go missing on paddle boardRescuers find 16-year-old girls trapped on island after overnight search: ‘We’re here, we’re here’
Volunteers find missing 16-year-olds who disappeared paddleboarding near Cedar Key
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Rescue crews start day 2 of searching for missing paddleboarders near Cedar Key, community joins in
US Coast Guard searches for two girls missing near Cedar Key
By Kayla Lewis and WCJB Staff
Published: Mar. 18, 2025 at 10:12 PM GMT+1
INGLIS, Fla. (WCJB) – A group of men who joined the call to search for two missing 16-year-old girls off the coast of Cedar Key, were surprised to be the ones who found the teens alive Tuesday morning.The search effort included teams from the U.S. Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Levy and Citrus County sheriff’s offices, and dozens of volunteer crews.It was one of those groups of volunteers that found Avery Bryan and Eva Aponte waving from an island surrounded by sharp oyster beds.
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Russ Coon, Will Pauling, and Alex Jeffries left Inglis around 8 a.m. and within 30 minutes located the two teens near Turtle Creek, more than 14 miles from Cedar Key.
“To get our attention their arms were flapping so aggressively it’s like they could’ve taken off the ground because they were like hello, hello. We’re here, we’re here,” said Coon.
The girls hadn’t been seen since 4 p.m. the day before on an inflatable paddle board.
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