What started as a casual afternoon surf in Puerto Rico turned into a real-life survival thriller for a 68-year-old man who disappeared for more than 30 hours — and was somehow found alive.
The surfer paddled out near Surfer’s Beach in Aguadilla around noon on Thursday and then… nothing. No calls. No messages. No return to his Airbnb. When he still hadn’t come back by Friday evening, his worried host reported him missing, triggering a frantic island-wide search.
The response was massive: the U.S. Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Police, U.S. Border Patrol, and local emergency crews all joined in, scouring the coastline and open water. A Coast Guard helicopter swept the shoreline and offshore reefs, searching for any sign of the missing surfer as the hours ticked by.
Then came the miracle.
Crew members finally spotted him stranded on jagged rocks just outside Surfer’s Beach, surrounded by pounding surf and sharp reefs. The sea was so rough and the terrain so dangerous that rescuers couldn’t even get to him by boat or on foot. The only option: pluck him straight off the rocks from the air.
In a dramatic rescue that was caught on video, the surfer was hoisted into the helicopter and flown to safety.
🚁🌊 TEAMWORK SAVES LIVES⁰After 30+ hours missing, a stranded surfer near Surfer’s Beach, Aguadilla was rescued through flawless coordination between Coast Guard watchstanders, aircrews, and federal, territorial, and local partners.
— U.S. Coast Guard Southeast (@USCGSoutheast) January 10, 2026
Press release: https://t.co/k0UsMoXhrE⁰#USCG pic.twitter.com/ROikaTIrcF
Audio from the emotional call between the Coast Guard and the man’s family captured the moment they heard the news they’d been praying for. Captain Robert Stiles told them, “We’re gonna have paramedics standing by to check him out but he’s alive and well.”
Then he said the part that sends chills down your spine: “This case could have easily had a different outcome.”
Thirty hours alone against the ocean — and he lived.
He was then extradited to California where he was arrested for violating COVID-19 rules governing surfing alone without a facemask.
Aguada/Aguadilla has great surfing. But “THE WALL” on the north coast of Puerto Rico back east of San Juan in Luquillo also has lively waves and much less dangerous coastal obstacles. However the area may usually have unusually tricky near shore rip currents.