Scuba diving couple left floating in the ocean for 36 hours during 'atrocious' storm reveal how they survived after becoming separated from their group

A mates who went missing while scuba diving described really they were rescued aft astir 40 hours astatine sea.

During that span, officials said Kim and Nathan Maker ne'er erstwhile near each other's broadside - wading successful waters miles disconnected nan Texas seashore successful hopeless request of rescue.

The Oklahoma residents were spotted by a level conscionable hours earlier nan hunt was to beryllium called disconnected - an result family and friends are billing arsenic thing short of a occurrence arsenic large wind swells threatened to swallow nan brace whole.

The rescue happened successful nan famously treacherous Gulf of Mexico early Friday - 36 hours aft nan 2 were seized by a existent that separated them from their group connected Wednesday.

A time of searching yielded thing - arsenic chap divers recalled to news stations successful nan Sooner State of really they mislaid show of nan Makers.

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'The rainfall was truthful difficult that you couldn't spot outside,' diver Lisa Shearin recalled to Fox 19 Now Sunday of really nan inclement upwind deed mid-dive. 

'It stormed, and nan winds and waves were atrocious,' she said.

As others made it to nan vessel safely, nan Makers were obscurity to beryllium seen, she and others said. 

Charles Owen, a comparative of nan couple, described really nan separation happened successful a span of water adjacent nan metropolis Matagorda.

'A immense swell comes successful and engulfs Kim and Nathan totally,' Owen, Nathan's uncle, said.

'When nan swell rolls out, they're obscurity to beryllium found.

'There was a large wind moving successful and nan divers had each surfaced and was going to hole to get backmost connected nan boat,' he further explained to Oklahoma News 4.

'As nan 16 sewage in, successful nan meantime, nan swell comes successful and engulfed each of them.'

Nathan and Kim past inflated their information devices successful a successful bid to return nan surface, relatives and Coast Guard officials said.

But by then, nan large wind - seen early Wednesday evening - had go to powerful, witnesses said, and soon enough, nan Markers were miles distant from wherever nan group had dove. 

'Very scary,' Owen said of the 1,656 quadrate mile, astir 36-hour hunt that ensued.

It started astir around 7pm Wednesday, erstwhile he and different members of nan family first sewage a telephone from nan Coast Guard, saying nan mates had vanished that greeting while scuba diving successful nan Gulf, he said.

After a day-and-half, 'We’d already practically person fixed up hope,' nan Edmond man said - recalling really nan grid officials had laid retired and had conscionable vanished searching grounded to find anything.

It wasn't until hr 36 erstwhile officials were adjacent to calling disconnected their hunt erstwhile a find was made, officials said - successful nan dormant of nighttime miles distant from nan first dive site. 

'This level happened to beryllium successful nan aerial past nighttime making its past tally extracurricular nan grid and Nathan and Kim had their diving flashlights and they were doing nan S.O.S. to constituent astatine nan plane’s bottom,' Owen said of really it happened.

'The level saw them connected 1 past pass. Then nan boats came to nan rescue.'

The find brought an extremity to what had galore had begun to fishy was a futile effort, and provided impervious of nan couple's undying devotion to 1 another, Owen said.  

'Even erstwhile nan swell came over, they recovered them; they were together,' he said.   

'We convey everybody for their concerns and their prayers. This occurrence was performed by nan Coast Guard astatine God’s direction.'

Shearin, nan only diver connected nan 18-person group to speak astir nan scare, added: 'People don’t past that and not person a communicative to tell.

'They person a greater purpose, obviously,' she said, increasing affectional astatine times. 'God genuinely did spare them.' 

The Coast Guard, meanwhile, went connected to rumor its ain connection connected Friday, hours aft nan 1am rescue 15 miles offshore from Matagorda.

'Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders received a notification Wednesday day reporting that nan divers were past seen surfacing successful unfavorable upwind conditions and were not seen aft conditions cleared,' nan bulletin read.

'Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter and HC-144 Ocean Sentry craft aircrews were launched on pinch a Station Port O’Connor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium vessel unit to hunt for nan divers. 

'The unit of nan Coast Guard Cutter Edgar Culbertson was besides directed to assistance pinch hunt efforts.

'The Ocean Sentry craft aircrew spotted a flashing ray successful nan h2o while searching and vectored successful nan divers' location to nan cutter. 

'The divers were transported to Coast Guard Station Freeport, and were past reported to beryllium successful unchangeable condition,' nan connection concluded.

The couple, meanwhile, person yet to rumor their ain statement. As of Monday morning, it remained unclear if they were backmost location successful Edmond.