Emergency crews were called to Southold Township Police when a 23-foot boat lost power about 3 miles north of Katchiger shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 5.
The 18-year-old operator told dispatchers that a 16-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl on board had jumped into the water without life jackets on.
Due to strong currents and high winds in the area, the teen was pushed further from the boat.
More than a dozen police and fire departments, including the Kachiguet Fire Department, Suffolk County Police Department and U.S. Coast Guard helicopters, spread out to search for the teens.
At one point, a 911 dispatcher told a boat operator to fire flares in the direction he last saw them.
Rescuers eventually found the girl swimming more than three miles east of the boat. The boy was found a short time later about 200 yards from her and four miles from shore.
Both swimmers were “in a state of exhaustion,” according to the Kachige Fire Department.
They refused medical treatment and were reunited with their parents.
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