An Oldsmar woman who told authorities she had fallen from a boat off Fort De Soto was rescued from the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday night, authorities said.
Clare Louis, 39, was spotted several hundred feet offshore around 3 a.m., after park supervisor Jim Wilson heard her cries for help.
Half an hour earlier, Russell Hernandez, 37, of Lakeland, who was on the boat with Louis, came ashore by himself near Gulf Pier. Hernandez called 911 from a borrowed cell phone, prompting a search, officials said.
Hernandez said Louis fell overboard around 11 p.m. He said he dropped anchor, dived in after her but swam ashore when he could not find her.
"They had a lot of luck," Wilson said, adding that the pair were lucky, considering the number of bull sharks in the area because of tarpon season.
Both Louis and Hernandez were nude; they told authorities they stripped off their clothes to be able to swim.
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