The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a 58-year-old man who was forced to tread water at sea for nearly four hours after getting swept away by rip currents off Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts. 
 
 The rescued man, Randall Hackett, had gone out for a swim with his 28-year-old son-in-law, Alexander Auerbach, around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Ipswich Police Department. 
 
 The two were "familiar with the area, were wearing wet suits and were reported as strong swimmers," police wrote in a Facebook post today. 
 
 But after failing to return more than an hour-and-a-half later, family members reported the two missing, police said. 
 
 Auerbach eventually made it back to shore around 7:30 p.m., police said. Auerbach reportedly told authorities that he and Hackett had been separated by rip currents and fog that caused near-zero visibility. 
 
 A multi-jurisdictional operation was then launched to find and rescue Hackett, police said. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter, plane and boat, and state police sent out a K-9 unit to aid with search-and-rescue efforts. 
 
 A few hours later, around 9:30 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter team spotted Hackett treading water about a quarter-mile from shore, according to police. 
 
 The Coast Guard deployed a diver who was able to bring the man up into the copter. 
 
 WCVB 
 
 Hackett was then flown back to shore, where he was reunited with family before being transported by ambulance to a hospital for evaluation. 
 
 "This was a tremendous effort by municipal, state, and federal agencies who came together to locate a swimmer in difficult conditions and rough waters," Ipswich Police Lt. Jonathan Hubbard said in the Facebook post. 
 
 "We are grateful that Mr. Hackett was located reunited with his family this evening.” 
 
 Hubbard praised the rescuers, who descended on Crane Beach from all over, for ensuring a positive outcome Tuesday. 
 
 WCVB 
 
 The Coast Guard added in a news release today that it wanted to remind the public that "water temperatures are rapidly dropping, meteorological conditions continue to deteriorate as the weather turns colder, and all mariners and swimmers should exercise appropriate caution in light of these season-changing hazards." ||||| Sign in using you account with: {* loginWidget *} 
 
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 Click here to return to the page you were visiting. ||||| A man who went missing after swimming off an Ipswich beach Tuesday evening with his son-in-law has been rescued, police say. 
 
 The U.S. Coast Guard was assisting with the search of Randall Hackett, 58, who went swimming with his son-in-law and failed to return to shore. 
 
 Watch the report | Uncut video from the Coast Guard rescue 
 
 Ipswich police notified the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday night that the men, who were both experienced swimmers, got into the water where Crane and Steep Hill beaches meet around 5:30 p.m. to swim, but failed to return. 
 
 Family members became concerned when they failed to return and went to the beach. They found the men's bikes on shore, but with no sign of the men they called 911. 
 
 Ipswich police located the son-in-law in the water south of Crane Beach, and he said that they became caught in heavy fog and were swept out by a rip current. 
 
 Both men were wearing wet suits. 
 
 After an hour of searching, a Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted the swimmer in the water and hoisted him into the aircraft. 
 
 The rescued swimmer is reported to be in stable condition. Newscenter 5 captured him walking into his wife's arms. 
 
 Two Coast Guard boats, a helicopter, local police and fire, as well as the Ipswich Harbormaster assisted in the search for the missing swimmer. 
 
 Newscenter 5's John Atwater tweeted a video of the rescued swimmer being loaded into the back of an ambulance. The man appeared alert and conscious. ||||| BOSTON — A Coast Guard helicopter crew found and rescued a person from the water Tuesday off Crane Beach in Ipswich. 
 
 Ipswich police notified the Coast Guard Tuesday evening that a father and son-in-law, who were both experienced swimmers, entered the water where Crane Beach and Steep Hill Beach meet at about 5:30 p.m. to swim and did not return home after as expected. 
 
 Concerned family members went to the beach and noticed the pair’s bikes were still on shore, but with no sign of the two men they immediately called 911 for help. 
 
 Ipswich police located the son-in-law in the water south of Crane Beach, who told police him and his father-in-law were caught in heavy fog and swept out by a rip current. Both men were wearing wet suits. 
 
 After an hour of searching for the other man, a Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod spotted the swimmer in the water. The man was hoisted into the aircraft and taken to shore where his care was transferred to emergency services personnel. He is reported to be in stable condition. 
 
 Two Coast Guard response boat crews from Coast Guard Station Gloucester, local fire and police personnel, and the Ipswich Harbormaster also searched for the man. 
 
 The Coast Guard reminds the public that water temperatures are rapidly dropping, meteorological conditions continue to deteriorate as the weather turns colder, and all mariners and swimmers should exercise appropriate caution in light of these season-changing hazards. ||||| Thick fog and rip currents first disoriented year-round swimmer and triathlete Randy Hackett of Argilla Road and then pulled him out to sea Tuesday evening off Crane Beach, leaving Hackett clinging to a green buoy for a time. 
 
 Missing swimmer found alive, rescued off Ipswich coast A man who went missing after swimming off an Ipswich beach Tuesday evening with his son-in-law has been rescued. More 
 
 "The fog was so thick you couldn't even see your hand," said Hackett, who completely lost his bearings. 
 
 "With the fog and not knowing exactly where the shore was, I made the decision to try and conserve energy," said Hackett. "I swim in a wetsuit and I thought I could survive until morning." 
 
 The U.S. Coast Guard and a team of police and firefighters eventually rescued Hackett, WickedLocal reported. 
 
 "I want to say thanks to the Ipswich fire and police departments, the Trustees, the emergency responders and the Coast Guard who pulled me from the briny," said Hackett, who also thanked "our great friends who came out to support us." 
 
 A Coast Guard helicopter spotted Hackett, 58, treading water about 2 miles east of the main Crane Beach offices and about a quarter of a mile from shore at 9:19 p.m. and deployed a rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 2nd Class John Brennan, to pull him in. 
 
 Hackett was wearing a bright pink swimming cap so boats could see him and so he would be visible in the water. 
 
 The helicopter pilot, Lt. Joshua Rice, and copilot, Lt. Nick Peters, flew Hackett to the rescue team's command post at the Trustees of Reservations Crane Beach parking lot, where he was reunited with his family and transported by Action Ambulance to a hospital for evaluation. 
 
 "Our air crews train every day," said Petty Officer Cynthia Oldham of the Coast Guard. "They know where to look based on the tides and currents and know what they're looking for. Once they found him, the rescue swimmer did his job." 
 
 Hackett went swimming with Alexander Auerbach, 28, of Edgartown at 5:30 p.m. 
 
 
 
 Police said both men knew the area, were wearing wetsuits in the 60-degree water and were strong swimmers. The men entered the water off Steep Hill Beach, a part of Crane Beach proper. Crane Beach stretches for 4 miles on the 2,100-acre reserve. 
 
 The idea was for both Hackett and Auerbach to swim with the outgoing tide along the shore and get in a workout. 
 
 Auerbach eventually swam ashore and walked to the rescue crews assembled at the Crane Beach parking lot. 
 
 Hackett wasn't as fortunate. 
 
 "The beautiful thing was when the fog lifted -- I don't know how late it was, 8, 8:30, maybe even 9 -- I was able to get my bearings," said Hackett. "I swam over the horizon and saw all the lights from the rescue vehicles. Without all those people and lights, it would have been hard for me to see. I was very happy to see the Coast Guard come down and give me a lift." 
 
 Town emergency dispatch received a call at 7:04 p.m. reporting that two swimmers had had gone for a swim at 5:30 p.m. and didn't return. 
 
 Hackett's wife, Binni, called 911 when Hackett and Auerbach failed to return from their swim and she found the men's bicycles at Steep Hill, but no sign of the two men. 
 
 "The fact the family knew their return time and the fact they checked on them had search crews out there, that really saved his life," Oldham said. 
 
 Auerbach walked up to the unified command post police set up in the Trustees of Reservations Crane Beach parking lot at 7:23 p.m., unhurt. 
 
 Police Sgt. Justin Daly and Fire Department Lt. Jeff French set up the unified command post in the parking lot and Police Department and Fire Department resources were called in, including off-road vehicles and rescue boats. 
 
 "This was a team effort," Oldham said. "The police called us. Otherwise we wouldn't have known." 
 
 The Coast Guard dispatched the helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod and two 27-foot boats from the Gloucester station. 
 
 The Massachusetts State Police sent a K-9 unit and Massachusetts Environmental Police also responded. 
 
 "This was a tremendous effort by municipal, state and federal agencies who came together to locate a swimmer in difficult conditions and rough waters," Acting Police Chief Lt. Jon Hubbard said. "We are grateful that Mr. Hackett was located and reunited with his family this evening." 
 
 Police Chief Paul Nikas was attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in California at the time of the incident.
– A swimmer who vanished off a Massachusetts beach was found safe and sound Tuesday after treading water for 4 1/2 hours. Randall Hackett, 58, and his 28-year-old son-in-law, Alexander Auerbach, had decided to swim part of the 4-mile distance of Crane Beach in Ipswich around 5pm Tuesday, report the Salem News and WCVB. Both are strong swimmers, and they were clad in wetsuits, but family members were nonetheless concerned when neither had returned to shore after an hour and a half, per ABC News. Shortly after family members reported the pair missing, Auerbach was found on the beach around 7:30pm, about a mile south of the men's starting point, but he said he'd lost track of Hackett because of rip currents and heavy fog. For two hours, the Coast Guard, police, and fire department combed the water before rescuers using an infrared camera aboard a helicopter spotted Hackett treading water a quarter-mile offshore, per WCVB. Hackett was plucked from the water around 9:30pm and returned to the beach, where he walked into his wife's arms. "The fog was so thick you couldn't even see your hand," says Hackett, who was taken to a hospital as a precaution. "I made the decision to try and conserve energy," he adds, noting he clung to a buoy for a time. "I thought I could survive until morning." On Facebook, police called the rescue "a tremendous effort … in difficult conditions and rough waters," while the Coast Guard warns water conditions are getting worse as temperatures drop. (This Coast Guard rescuer had to rely solely on his own muscles in another incident.)