Quick-Thinking California Teens Rescue Surfer After Ocean Injury
Quick-thinking California teens rescue a surfer after an ocean injury. The morning sun shimmered across the Pacific, soft and golden, as Scott Muir paddled out into the surf off Oceanside, California. It was meant to be a peaceful morning — just Scott, his board, and the rhythm of the sea. But in a single heartbeat, everything changed.
“The wave threw me over, hit me on my head, on the sand, and I just felt a crunch,” Scott said later from his hospital bed. Three waves passed over him as he lay face down in the water, his body limp and unresponsive. “I was pretty sure it was getting really close,” he said quietly.
The Teens Rescued the Surfer
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Scott had no way of knowing that help was already on its way — and that God had woven together a story of miracles, one small smile at a time.
A few yards away, 19-year-old Judah Ely and his friend Thomas Alspaugh were out enjoying the same waves. Earlier that morning, Judah had nearly collided with Scott’s surfing buddy, Dan, in the water. It could’ve gone badly, tempers flaring the way they sometimes do when the surf gets crowded. But instead, Dan smiled.
“Dan could have probably reacted differently,” Scott later said. “But he reacted with a smile, and from that moment, our vibe in the water — everything changed.”
They Were Friendly at First
That one act of friendliness shifted the current of the day. Strangers became friends. The four began cheering one another on as they caught waves, laughter, and encouragement floating across the water. No one could have guessed that, in just moments, those new bonds would save a life.
When Scott went under, Judah noticed something wasn’t right. “I was trying to find him, you know, to hype him up because it was such a sweet wave,” Judah recalled. “And I just see his board pop up, and I’m like, ‘Where is this dude?’”
Without hesitation, Judah dove in. He reached into the water, grabbed Scott by the arms, and flipped him over, holding his head above the surface. “I saw Judah, like, fully pulling him out of the water,” Thomas said. “I was like, ‘No way.’”
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God Was in the Ocean
God was there in that ocean — in the quick reflexes, in the courage, and in the kind hearts of those two young men. It wasn’t luck. It was divine timing.
Scott was rushed to the hospital and, though paralyzed, he soon regained some movement. “I have arm mobility. I can move my left leg,” he said. For a man who thought he might never breathe again, each small movement was a miracle.
Later, Judah and Thomas came to visit Scott in the hospital. Their eyes met — and in that moment, the reality of it all sank in.
He Thanked Them
“To be able to look them both in the eye and say, ‘You are the reason I get to see my wife again. You are the reason I get to see my daughter and my son,’” Scott said. “I didn’t think I’d ever have that chance.”
What began as a smile between strangers in the waves had turned into a friendship — one marked by courage, compassion, and God’s quiet hand moving through it all.
“I’m thankful for people that, you know, give out those smiles and receive those smiles, because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day,” Scott said.
God Still Moves
And maybe that’s the message in this story: that God still moves through simple kindness, through the small gestures that ripple out in ways we can’t predict.
Sometimes He parts seas. Sometimes, He calms storms. And sometimes, He uses a smile between strangers to pull someone back to life.
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Ephesians 4:32 “And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.”
WATCH: Quick-Thinking California Teens Rescue Surfer After Ocean Injury
LISTEN: Man Reunites With the Woman He Saved From a Burning Car | She Couldn't Swim, Went Into the Water Anyway to Save A Girl
h/t: WLOX
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/CBS 8 San Diego
Originally published October 31, 2025.
