Stranger who helped rescue stranded kayaker in Jamaica Beach warns of the dangers of rip currents

JAMAICA BEACH, Texas (KTRK) -- Three friends who call themselves "MadMenXtreme," were done with shark fishing this morning, when they were drafted as rescuers for a kayaker who hadn't returned to shore.

"His family ran to us for help," Armando Tello told ABC13 Eyewitness News. "They said he had gone out, but didn't know where he was in the water."

The friends had a jet ski and a drone. "We launched it and followed the sound. That's how we found him."

The man, said to be in his 40's, was exhausted, and the kayak had capsized. He was holding onto a ring attached to the kayak.

"He was exhausted," said Tello. "He didn't have the strength to use the step to get onto the jet ski." His friend, Dave, pulled him up, and Tello used the kayak to return to shore.

"We didn't need 911," he laughed.

The kayaker left with his family, exhausted, sunburned and thirsty, but alive, and grateful for the strangers who were in the right place, right time, and with the right equipment.

Tello wanted the story told because of the dangerous rip currents right now.

"I see people out there on rafts, and with floaties. The water looks calm from the surface, but beneath, it's a strong current that can carry you out. That's what happened to him, and he tried to paddle against the current until it wore him out," he said.

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