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Woman rescued 12 hours after falling off boat in Chesapeake Bay

Posted at 4:50 PM, Jun 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-29 16:50:24-04

HARVE DE GRACE, Md. -- A Maryland woman was found alive nearly 12 hours after she fell out of a boat and into the waters of the Chesapeake Bay over the weekend.

Lauren Conner, 32, was boating Sunday night with her boyfriend and some friends when the boat hit a wake and Conner fell overboard.

"At first I was like, 'OK, he'll come get me.' Then, when they turned around and they were looking, I'm like, 'Oh shoot, they don't see me,'" Conner said.

Conner swam about a mile before she reached an island where she spent the night.

"I wasn't nervous. I was like, 'I'm not going to die in this dirty old bay,' so I got a chance...," she said. "It was my only option."

Conner swam about a mile before she reached an island where she spent the night.

"We were searching everywhere. None of the boats fortunately came up with her," said Phillip Hines, who was part of the team searching for Conner.

In the morning, the rescue team spotted Conner and reunited her with her family.

Emergency officials are now warning others to wear a life jacket before heading out to the water this Fourth of July weekend.