Moody aircraft conduct civil search and rescue; rescue one individual

  • Published
  • By Capt. Dustin Hart
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Three Moody aircraft supported a civil search and rescue mission in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, rescuing one individual.

The 23rd Wing received a request for assistance from the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., after initial search efforts to find a boat with two passengers, which had been missing since Tuesday afternoon, were unsuccessful. The boat was last seen on the Steinhatchee River in Florida.

The wing immediately responded with an HC-130P and two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters with pararescuemen crews on board. After approximately four hours of searching the area, an HH-60 crew and pararescuemen rescued one survivor in the Gulf of Mexico, 60 miles off the Florida coast. The survivor was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla.

The survivor, who was spotted with the stranded boat, reported the other individual had left the boat to swim for a buoy on Wednesday. The condition of that individual is unknown.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers remain with the friends and family of the individual who is still missing," said Col. Kenneth Todorov, 23rd Wing commander. "Moody Airmen stand ready at all times to answer the nation's needs, whether it's over Iraq and Afghanistan, or conducting civil search and rescue missions here at home."