‘Had nothing left’: Coast Guard rescuer says they almost lost man who fell off cruise ship

Richard Hoefle, a U.S. Coast Guard aviation survival technician, spoke on Nov. 28 about a Thanksgiving Day rescue a few days earlier when a cruise ship passenger had fallen overboard. Hoefle said that James Grimes “had nothing left” after he had treaded water to survive. Hoefle said he guessed Grimes had between a minute and 30 seconds left “before we lost him completely.” Grimes later told reporters he believed he had treaded water for 15 to 20 hours.

• Passenger who fell from cruise ship treaded water for 20 hours to survive