| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District |
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| Press Release | Date: August 3, 2005 206-220-7237 |
LIFE JACKET, GOOD SAMARITAN SAVES BOY IN DISCOVERY BAY SEATTLE - A 16-year old boy was rescued Tuesday night from the waters near Port Townsend, Wash., after his kayak overturned. The Jefferson County 911 center notified the Coast Guard about 5:30 p.m., that the boy was in the water. A 41-foot motor life boat from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay was diverted to assist. About 15 minutes later, a nearby boater pulled the boy from the 53-degree waters. The boy was safely transported to shore where he was evaluated by emergency medical technicians and then released. The boy was wearing a personnel floatation device, which greatly increased his chance of survival. History has shown that the chances of survival greatly increases if an individual is wearing a personal floatation device. In 2003, 481 people drowned in the United States. Four-hundred sixteen of those people were not wearing life jackets. That year a total of 703 people died in boating accidents with only 127 of those people wearing life jackets. For more information on life jacket requirements visit: http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/fed_reqs/equ_pfd.htm ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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