Drifting kayaker found in 'middle of nowhere'

See video of the Coast Guard rescue of kayaker Jonathan Stockton. (RealPlayer required. Video courtesy of News 8.)

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Jonathan Stockton has always been a stubborn guy, his brother said, and it was that trait, plus a strong belief in God, that kept him alive since Sunday adrift at sea.

The 28-year-old resident of Phoenix, was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter about 1:15 yesterday afternoon 80 miles west of the Big Island. He was spotted by a Navy P-3C Orion aircraft a half-hour earlier floating "in the middle of nowhere," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lauren Smith.

A Coast Guard helicopter prepares to lower a crew member to help pick up Jonathan Stockton from his kayak 80 miles off the Big Island. Stockton, who had been adrift since Friday, said the ordeal "is not something I would like to repeat." AW1 Gary L. Phillips, U.S. Navy

News of the rescue was relayed to Stockton's family as they were in flight to Hawai'i yesterday. David Stockton, who is here with his brother, Peter, and mother, Patricia Bossard, said they were thrilled.

"John, out of anybody in the world we know, John will survive more than anybody. He's just strong and stubborn," said David Stockton, 24.

Peter Stockton said his brother did not give up hope because he knew God was on his side. Jonathan Stockton is a high school teacher and pastor who lived on the Big Island for a couple of years as a member of Youth With a Mission.

"There are three reasons why my brother is alive: One is the Navy, the second one is the Coast Guard and the third one is God," Peter Stockton said. "I know God loves my family, and I think, literally, it was up to Him to save him and He did."

David Stockton said his brother recently acquired the kayak with a sail and had taken it out a couple of times. He told the Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew that he left in the kayak Friday morning near the Kona Airport with a goal of reaching North Kohala's 'Upolu Point, but he ran into trouble.

Jonathan Stockton said that strong winds capsized his kayak Saturday afternoon, a quarter-mile offshore West Hawai'i. He decided to stay with his kayak rather than attempt to swim to shore, a decision he now regrets.

"It was just real big swells, 10- to15-foot swells, wind just howling. I capsized the boat maybe 30 times the first two days," he said.

A Hawai'i County paramedic tended to kayaker Jonathan Stockton at the Kona Airport after Stockton was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter off the Big Island. West Hawaii Today via Associated Press

But the phone's battery died, and he was not heard from until yesterday.

Stockton said a rescue plane flew over him at least once on Sunday, but the crew didn't see him. As the Navy aircraft flew over him yesterday, Stockton, who had run out of drinking water, said he waved frantically to catch the crew's attention.

"Finally they got close enough and he flew right about 1 o'clock high. I had this blanket, a shiny metal emergency blanket, I tied it on the oar and I stuck it up there and I took off my jacket and I was waving it around. I was just like, 'Let them see me.' "

Gary Phillips was one of two men on board the P-3C Orion who spotted Stockton. He said as soon as he saw the yellow jacket on the kayak, he knew that they found their man.

"It's the best mission in the world," Phillips said. "We do all kinds of neat stuff. We track foreign submarines, we shoot missiles. But of the missions that we do, this is what really matters. Somebody can go home with their wife, that, if we hadn't been there, wouldn't."

The search on Monday focused on an area 50 miles west of the Big Island. Yesterday, the Coast Guard checked ocean drift patterns and other factors and moved the search area, Smith said.

"When we recalculated it was determined that that was the most probable area and sure enough, it was. He was there," the Coast Guard's Smith said. Still, finding Stockton was nothing short of a miracle, she said.

"He was really out in the middle of nowhere. He was way out there, and he is so extremely lucky that he was spotted."

Stockton was picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter and brought to Kona Airport. He was then transferred to Kona Community Hospital, where he was treated for exposure and abrasions to his arms. He was released to his family at about 8:30 p.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Jonathan Stockton. Also, the kayaker was adrift since Sunday.