6 hours afloat: Survivor says thoughts of family kept him alive

PROVO — All Chans Mixayboua could think about as he was struggling to stay afloat after his boat capsized in Utah Lake was his family.

His legs cramped as he paddled for six hours Monday night, and the American Fork man said thoughts of his two daughters, ages 10 and 11, were what kept him going.

"At first, it was a struggle trying to get my head together," Mixayboua, 34, said through tear-filled eyes. "I kept telling myself my family needs me. I just couldn't give up."

Mixayboua and five other men went fishing on a boat Mixayboua and his brother-in-law, Joe Rajsavong, had bought earlier that morning. They were about halfway to what they called Sandy Beach near Springville when a big wave came over the front of the boat.

Mixayboua said they tried to get the water out of the boat, but the waves kept coming.

"It went so fast, we didn't really have time to think of what to do," he told the Deseret News from his hospital bed Tuesday.

After the boat sank, the waves continued and separated many of the men from each other.

Mixayboua found a 3-feet-by-1-foot seat cushion that helped keep him afloat, as long as he kept paddling.

Although the men had nine life jackets on the boat, many of the jackets were in the cubby of the boat when it sank, he said.

Right after the boat was submerged, Mixayboua saw one of his friends, Keooudai "Dai" Sysasith, holding onto a life jacket that was still partly attached to the boat. Mixayboua swam back over to him and helped him get the jacket free.

Sysasith and Mixayboua then worked together to swim toward shore, but Sysasith was much faster than Mixayboua, so Mixayboua told him to go ahead and swim to shore for help.

Mixayboua continued to swim to the shore, which he said looked forever away, but he kept getting pushed back to the middle of the lake. He could still see Sysasith, and they would talk back and forth. Mixayboua said he also passed by another of his friends, Lon Thongthipvoravong, who wasn't moving very fast and was using a seat cushion to float, as well.

Late Tuesday, although five of the men had been found and were treated for hypothermia, searchers were still looking for Thongthipvoravong.

Mixayboua lost track of Thongthipvoravong, Sysasith and the shore as all traces of sunlight disappeared.

"It was so dark, I didn't know where to go," Mixayboua said. "I just kept telling myself, it's not my time. It gave me some strength."