Aussie Teen Surfer Rescued After Being Swept to Remote Island
Hold onto your coffee cups because this is off-the-charts wild: 19-year-old surfer Darcy Deefholts vanished from Australia’s Wooli Beach on July 9 and landed eight miles offshore on a deserted island by the next morning. Darcy hopped on his bike that day, ditching his phone and smartwatch at home—classic rookie move, right? His clothes and bike turned up at a local landmark called One Tree, so family figured he grabbed his board for a surf session and never came back.
When evening rolled in and Darcy stayed MIA, concerned kin called in reinforcements. Local police, PolAir helicopters, Marine Area Command teams and Marine Rescue crews scoured sand and sea for hours. According to officials’ statement reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “Following a land and water search around Wooli Beach, the man was located safe today on a small island off Wooli.” Talk about one in a million, as Darcy’s dad Terry Deefholts told ABC USA. “It’s surreal. I was bracing for the worst. I didn’t give up but, jeez, I was close. Who survives this?”
By July 10, Northern NSW Local Health District hospital had Darcy stabilized and in surprisingly high spirits, a spokesperson told ABC. He’s resting comfortably, surrounded by family support—and probably wondering how he’s going to explain this to his friends. Community volunteers deserve a round of applause here too. Local skipper Matthew McLennan of Marine Rescue called it “heartwarming” that so many jumped in to help, and rare to see a search wrap up this way.
Just when you think the ocean can’t throw more at us, it keeps churning out unusual tales. In June 2025, a boat capsizing on Lake Tahoe claimed eight lives—including a Doordash exec and relatives—making it California’s deadliest sea tragedy since 2019, per ABC 7 San Francisco. Back in March 2025, a tourist submarine in the Red Sea owned by Sinbad Submarines went down, killing six Russian travelers, according to NBC News and the Associated Press. And Faster Pussycat rocker Taime Downe’s fiancée Kimberly Burch tragically fell overboard from an ’80s-themed Royal Caribbean ship off Miami in March 2025, TMZ later reported.
Ocean drama, community heroes and miraculous survival make this story one for the books. I swear, I could chatter about this all day.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Northern NSW Local Health District, E! News, ABC 7 San Francisco, NBC News, Associated Press, TMZ
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
