Man Jumps Into 'Frigid' NY Harbor, Says God Told Him To
Earlier today, a 29-year-old man jumped into New York Harbor and attempted to swim to Liberty Island, because he believed God wanted him to do that. Luckily, he survived.
Around 4:30 p.m., the man "stripped down to swim trunks, stretched out and then dove from a Liberty State Park footpath in front of stunned park-goers about 4:30 p.m.," say authorities. About 45 minutes after his dive, he was spotted by a witness who called 911. The U.S. Park Police sent out a rescue boat.
"When we got to him he was shivering like a leaf and the tides were taking him away from Liberty Island," said United States Park Police Officer Kurt Ziel, who responded to the call along with fellow US Park Police Officers Eddie Scocco and Christopher Murphy.
"He said God told him to swim to Liberty Island," said Ziel. "He said he would rather drowned than get on the boat."
Eventually the man complied, and got on the boat. He was later sent to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Hopefully he's doing okay.
