Nine-year-old boy & 2 family members adrift in waters of Green Bay...reunited with their rescuers Tuesday

WHEELING, ILLINOIS (WITI) -- A nine-year-old Chicago area boy was adrift in the waters of Green Bay with two family members for more than 15 hours! On Tuesday, July 29th, he was reunited with his rescuers.

In Wheeling, Illinois, Tommy Alter sat down with the four-man Coast Guard crew who pulled his cousin, his aunt and him out of the water.

The trio set off from Peninsula State Park on July 10th.

The company they rented their kayaks from contacted authorities when they didn't come back that night.

While Tommy Alter and his family are thankful the crew came to the rescue, crew members were quick to return the thank yous.

"I remember seeing you kick your feet and helping him paddle back to the helicopter, so that was a big help, so thank you for doing that," Coast Guard Lt. Dan Schraeder said.

All three people were wearing life jackets and didn't leave the kayaks, but did not have a way to alert anyone for help.

The kayak company said it is going to purchase waterproof cases for cell phones and limit the area where customers are allowed to travel.