Arizona scuba divers abandoned at sea
Nov 18, 2013, 1:27 PM | Updated: 1:47 pm
PHOENIX — An Arizona couple claimed they were left at sea while they were scuba diving off of Thailand.
According to azfamily.com, Mesa residents Lexa and Jake Mendenhall were in the country to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and decided to go scuba diving.
The Mendenhalls, both certified divers, said they made their second one-hour dive of the day and surfaced to find their boat missing.
“I kept thinking, ‘What if there’s no boat? It’s evening. What boat goes out in the evening?” Lexa wondered.
The couple were left with two dive instructors and another couple. Video filmed by Jake showed nearby cliffs that were to steep to climb.
They were floating for about 30 to 45 minutes before one of the instructors was able to flag another boat using an inner tube. The sun had set by the time they were rescued.
“Thank goodness she had it. The waves were five-feet, so without it I don’t know if the other boat would have seen us at all,” Jake said.
The Mendenhalls said they knew there were sharks in the water.
The captain said he left the area because he had engine troubles.
Lexa was injured after being rescued. She collapsed and cut her chin.
