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A helicopter crew from the Coast Guard Air Station in Savannah rescued a 71-year-old kayaker last Thursday who became stranded in the marshes near Village Creek Landing on St. Simons Island, Georgia, after becoming separated from the group she was touring with.
The woman was safely lifted from the marsh using the helicopter's hoisting system and transported to the St. Simons Island Airport with no reported injuries.
"A helicopter crew from the Coast Guard Air Station in Savannah rescued a 71-year-old kayaker on Thursday, near Village Creek Landing, after she became separated from her group. She was safely hoisted from the marsh and transported to St. Simons Island Airport with no injuries reported," the Coast Guard reported in an official statement posted on X.
Village Creek Landing is one of the most popular access points for kayaking in the Golden Isles of Georgia, a coastal area characterized by extensive tidal marshes, channels, and tributaries that can be disorienting for kayakers, especially when tidal conditions change.
The marshes in the area are part of the Marshes of Glynn, an ecosystem of salt marshes along the coast of Georgia that, while appealing for recreational kayaking, poses real risks of navigation and group separation.
The rescue occurs in the context of multiple recent operations by the Coast Guard in the southeastern region of the country. Just two days prior, on April 15, the institution rescued a 13-year-old girl who was adrift off Rodriguez Key in the Florida Keys. The minor was wearing a life jacket and was reunited with her family in good health.
Rescues of kayakers in marshes and coastal waters are common in the southeastern U.S., especially during the spring season, when water recreational activities increase.
The Coast Guard Air Station in Savannah is the base responsible for search and rescue operations along the coast of Georgia and neighboring areas in South Carolina and northern Florida, with helicopters equipped for hoisting operations in hard-to-reach areas such as swamps and marshes.
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