Tara Myers is warning others of the dangers of launching a large raft in the ocean.
A Florida mother and son are issuing a dire warning after they floated miles from shore on a giant inflatable swan last month.
Tara Myers is no stranger to the Gulf of Mexico. She's spent hours at the beach with her family over the years, and Oct. 21 seemed no different. The water appeared calm and there was little wind.
So when she and her son, Brennan, climbed aboard the enormous swan float, they were surprised at how quickly they were carried from shore.
"I was not sure if we were going to keep drifting because land just kept getting farther and farther and farther away," Myers told WFLA. "I have never been more scared in my entire life."
She tried to paddle them back to land, but quickly tired. "I was just exhausted, and we were not going anywhere. Like I was doing that for an inch," she said.
Fortunately beachgoers noticed the float adrift and called 911.
When a rescue boat arrived, Myers couldn't help sobbing. "I literally just laid down on that swan float and cried," she said. "So hard because this could have ended so much worse, and I didn't want him to know that I was that scared."
Her warning to other parents? Think twice before launching a large raft in the ocean.
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