Coast Guard helps reunite rescuer and survivor 44 years later
OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WTVD) -- There was an emotional reunion more than four decades in the making Monday.
A woman who nearly drowned when she was just 12 years old finally got the chance to say thank you to her Coast Guard rescuer.
Cindi Vance met Petty Officer 1st Class David O'Neal for the first time since he pulled her from the surf off the coast of Oak Island back on July 3, 1970.
A second rescuer - Petty Officer 1st Class Ronald Savage - also helped pull Vance to safety, but he died in a car accident a few years ago. Savage's son met Vance in his father's place.
Vance's brother was the reason she was in the water to begin with. She went in to reach him, but he didn't make it.
Vance said she was able to find her rescuers after using a genealogist. She said she is glad she finally got to say thank you.
