A South Carolina family's prayers were answered this week after their loved one was found after being lost at sea for 66 days.
Louis Jordan was found around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday about 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. He had gone fishing near Conway, South Carolina on January 23.
Jordan had been living in a docked sailboat at the Bucksport Plantation Marina in Conway. His family knew something was wrong when they did not hear from him.
"He might sail up and down the Intercoastal Waterway, but he didn't have the experience he needed to go out into the ocean," marina manager Jeff Weeks confirmed.
Jordan set out in his sailboat, Angel, alone, and did not file a float plan. His family called the coast guard after a week went by with no word.
"We expected him to come back and he did not return," his mother, Norma Davis, said. "We knew something happened."
Coast Guard 7th District spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo said alerts were sent from New Jersey to Miami telling them to look out for Angel. An official search began on February 8, but was suspended after 10 days
The Houston Express, a German-flagged ship, spotted the 37-year-old on Thursday. A Coast Guard helicopter flew Jordan to a Virginia hospital, where he received treatment for an injured shoulder and dehydration.
"From what he told us on the phone, he was catching fish and collecting rain water and drinking it," Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Krystyn Pecora told The News & Observer.
Jordan's family was thrilled he was found alive.
"It's amazing," Norma said. "It's been very difficult not knowing anything and I just feel like all of our prayers have come true. They've been answered."
"We prayed, and prayed, and hoped you were still alive," Jordan's father, Frank, added.
