A British woman who vanished after renting a boat off the coast of Spain has been found alive—after spending four harrowing days drifting alone on the open sea.
The 39-year-old, identified locally as Mary Gavin, had rented a 15-foot motorboat from the port of La Savina in Formentera on Tuesday morning. She was expected to return the vessel by 6 p.m. Wednesday, but when she failed to show up, friends grew alarmed and alerted authorities.
What followed was a massive search operation involving Spanish coastguard vessels, Civil Guard helicopters, police divers, and underwater specialists. The woman and the boat seemed to have vanished without a trace—until yesterday.
Around 5 p.m. on June 22, a passing vessel spotted her drifting between Ibiza and Valencia. Remarkably, she was still alive, floating in the same Quicksilver 475 Axess motorboat she had rented, powered by a Mercury outboard engine.
She was immediately transported to a hospital in Valencia, where her current condition remains unclear as of this morning, June 23. Authorities have not released further details on her health.
The Civil Guard confirmed her survival in a brief statement but has not yet provided specifics about how she endured the ordeal. Her boat has since been towed back to Ibiza by the coast guard.
“The British woman who vanished after hiring a boat in Formentera on Tuesday morning has been found alive,” a Civil Guard spokesperson said.
Before her discovery, officials had stated: “The missing woman is a 39-year-old British national who hired the boat in the port of La Savina in Formentera on Tuesday morning. She was supposed to return it around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and when she didn’t, her friends became worried and raised the alarm.”
The ongoing investigation is being led by the Civil Guard’s Judicial Police unit, while further details surrounding her disappearance and survival are still being pieced together.