Mom, child, tortoise and cat rescued 925 miles off Hawaii coast during Hurricane Gilma

The United States Coast Guard and Navy rescued a mother and her 7-year-old child alongside their pet tortoise and cat from a sailboat nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii during Hurricane Gilma’s landfall last week after the boat’s captain died.

Watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received an alert from an emergency radio beacon notifying them of the stranded family around noon Aug. 25, according to a news release from the USCG.

The center broadcast the alert to all ships in the area and sent out an HC-130 Hercules airplane to search for the family.