The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Kathleen and Joseph Earner early Tuesday morning after being stranded at sea.
"They were a little cold and wet when they arrived on the scene, they were in the early stages of hypothermia," says Luke Schafer of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Their son called for help after his parents did not return from a rafting trip Monday afternoon in Cohasset. Police say they left their car at Wadleigh Park and walked their raft over to Rocky Beach, where their journey began.
"They must have got caught by the wind, and were unable to fight it, paddle back in," says Derrick McGarigal of the U.S. Coast Guard.
This couple in their 50s only brought along two oars, raincoats and a lunch box. Schafer says the Earners were not prepared for an emergency,"every person on board should be wearing a life jacket, bring some kind of means of communicating, a cell phone, a radio."
After several hours of searching in the darkness, a Coast Guard helicopter spotted them about eight miles northwest of Rocky Beach. The Earners were then safely put on a boat and brought back to shore.
The Earners did not suffer any injuries. A family member says they are back home resting, and ask for privacy.
