Video Shows Moments After Fmr. Dolphins Player Swam 9 Miles To Safety
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Newly released video shows the moments after an ex-Dolphin player's 9-mile swim to safety that saved his life.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said former Miami Dolphins fullback Rob Konrad was fishing off the South Florida coast on January 9th when he fell off a moving boat.
While treading water, Konrad realized he had to swim or die waiting for help. He spent 16 hours in the water and swam to safety.
The newly released video, posted on YouTube by On-Air Personality Andy Slater , shows Konrad's first call was to his parents.
An officer spoke on his behalf as Konrad sipped water in the back of a Palm Beach Police patrol car.
Click here to watch Lauren Pastrana's report.
Moments earlier, you can see Konrad wrapped in a blanket standing outside a home waiting to be check out by paramedics.
Officials said the day he went missing, they started searching for him after a friend of Konrad's called the same night saying he was overdue from his fishing trip.
Konrad came very close to being found. At one point he had a fishing boat pass nearby but nobody noticed him. Konrad missed a second opportunity for rescue when a Coast Guard helicopter got close but didn't see him.
"I shouldn't be here…16 hours in the water and I think I ended up traveling 27 miles," said Konrad in a previous interview.
As for his boat, the Bahamian Government found it around Dead Man's reef. Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission estimates is sustained $70,000 worth of damage.
