A Spanish woman who drifted helplessly in the Ionian Sea for three days after her husband fell overboard managed to record the exact GPS coordinates of his disappearance, providing a critical lifeline for an ongoing international search.
Retired businessman Juan José Mutilba Obregón, 66, vanished on Aug. 18 roughly 150 nautical miles from shore.
The couple had departed Syracuse, Sicily, when Mr. Mutilba caught a tuna.
While washing the fish's blood from the deck of their newly acquired sailboat, the Theorema, he slipped and plunged into the water.
His son, Sergio Mutilba, said his 67-year-old mother froze in shock. Inexperienced with the larger vessel's controls, she attempted to use the sails to slow down but was unable to maneuver back to her husband.
Mr. Mutilba disappeared from her sight within 30 seconds.
Despite her panic, she meticulously recorded the exact coordinates of his fall before her radio distress signals failed.
Unable to pilot the yacht, she drifted in isolation until the vessel ran out of fuel. On Aug. 21, she finally acquired a cellular signal near the Greek coastal town of Pylos and pleaded for rescue.
Addressing intense media speculation regarding his mother’s mental state during her ordeal, Mr. Mutilba clarified she did not keep a diary while adrift.
"My mother is not crazy," he stated, emphasizing that the only notes she took were the coordinates of where she lost her husband.
Italian and Greek authorities continue to utilize those precise coordinates in a joint maritimesearch, while the businessman's wife remains under medical care for severe shock.