American couple who disappeared on a dhow en route to the Azores show signs of life almost two weeks later

Yanni Nikopoulos and Dale Jones are already home after lightning struck the boat they were on

The American couple who were Missing During a trip to Portugal he was already located, and now he is traveling back home in Virginia.

The US Coast Guard confirmed that the 65-year-old man and woman called authorities on Friday to say they were safe and on their way to Hampton. At the time of the call they were about 129 kilometers from Chincoteague and both confirmed they were fine and did not need assistance.

Yanni Nikopoulos and Del Jones disappeared after a sailing trip to the Azores. The ship was found with some damage, having passed through a stormy area on June 13. Since then, nothing has been known about the couple, who left Hampton on June 8 on their way to the Azores archipelago.

Four days after Dale Jones last contacted the family, the sailor’s daughter, who was worried about not being able to reach her mother, alerted the Coast Guard on June 17. Although the couple did not have a set date for their return after the ship damage, it was expected that they would have already arrived in the United States by then.

They ended up being able to call Del Jones’ daughter to say the boat had been struck by lightning, so they ended up getting a lifeboat to go home. At that time they were 740 km from Virginia.

It took five days for the daughter to hear the news again, but the Coast Guard eventually confirmed that they were both safe and sound: “We are so happy to hear that Yanny and Dale were found safe,” James said. That power, in comments reported by the Associated Press.