Teen Stuck In Water Off GA Coast For 10 Hours

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA — A 19-year-old spent 10 hours stuck in the surf off the Georgia coast Wednesday night, treading water for his life after being sucked out to ocean by a rip current.

On Facebook, Glynn County Emergency Management Agency director Jay Wiggins said rescuers from his agency feared they were working on a recovery effort when they got news that the young man — identified by local media as Blake Spataro, of Louisiana — had floated three miles across an inlet and surfaced at a golf course on neighboring Sea Island.

"I didn't want to die out there," Spataro said to WJAX-TV. "I was talking to God the entire night. I wanted to live. I thought I was too young to die and I simply didn't want to end there."

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Spataro told the station he had been taking a nighttime walk on the beach and that he rested during his time in the water by closing his eyes and floating, letting the currents take him.

According to Wiggins, employees of the golf course discovered Wiggins once he made it to shore and called an ambulance for him.

"The opportunity to speak with the young man's father and let our public safety partners know the positive outcome of this situation made my day ... ," Wiggins said on Facebook. "Let this be another reminder please be careful when swimming in the ocean, you can get in trouble very quickly!"

File photo courtesy Glynn County Emergency Management