Navy crew spots ‘Help’ scrawled on deserted beach by 3 castaways, brave and sure
If not for the courage of the fearless rescuers, the three castaways would still be lost.
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED APR 11, 2024 3:23 PM EDT
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip that ended with the crew of a U.S. Navy sub-hunting plane spotting a cry for “Help” scrawled on the beach of a remote Pacific island
The Navy plane was searching for three experienced seafarers who had gone missing a week earlier. The three had started from a tropic port, the Polowat Atoll in the Pacific, aboard a tiny ship, a 20-foot open skiff with an outboard motor, according to a Coast Guard news release
More than a week later, the Navy plane spotted the men on Pikelot Atoll, about 100 nautical miles from where their voyage had begun. The three had arranged leaves on the beach to spell ‘help,’ which was spotted by the Navy plane.
“In a remarkable testament to their will to be found, the mariners spelled out ‘HELP’ on the beach using palm leaves, a crucial factor in their discovery,” Coast Guard Lt. Chelsea Garcia said in the news release. “This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location.”
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-coast-guard-rescue-help/
