Revealed: How missing surfer Darcy Deefholts ended up stranded on remote island

A surfer who made headlines across the world after becoming stranded on a remote uninhabited island 13km off the northern NSW coast actually paddled there and was not sucked out to sea by a rip, authorities believe.

The incredible story of teen surfer Darcy Deefholts ending up stranded on a remote island 13km out to sea captured the world’s attention.

A surfer who made headlines across the world after becoming stranded on a remote uninhabited island 13km off the northern NSW coast actually paddled there and was not sucked out to sea by a rip, authorities believe.

Darcy Deefholts, 19, was rescued by a search party including his uncles from North Solitary Island, off Wooli in the state’s north, 18 hours after he went missing while surfing.

Mr Deefholts going missing and his subsequent rescue captured international media attention, including by The Times of London, which described the rescue as a “miracle”.

It can now be revealed police actually believe Mr Deefholts paddled out to the island – as opposed to being sucked out to sea by a ferocious rip.

They are treating his actions as a mental health incident.

Darcy’s family were “fearing the worst” before the teen was found alive and well on the island. Picture: Instagram.

On Friday morning, Darcy’s father Terry Deefholts told this publication the young man was “still processing” the ordeal but was “doing good”.

“I’m regathering at the moment and taking the time to process an equally ecstatic and traumatic experience. To say I’m overwhelmed is an understatement,” the father said of his son’s rescue.

He said Darcy would likely “tell his own story” and that “it’s not mine to tell”.

North Solitary Island, aerial photograph looking northwest towards the mainland. Solitary Islands Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia. Picture: Alamy

The teen, who left home at 2.30pm on Wednesday on his bike with a heavily waxed up malibu surfboard, sparked an extensive search from NSW Police, Marine Rescue NSW and scores of community members wandering the beach with torches until he was found in a “one in a million miracle” on Thursday morning about 9am.

Authorities revealed to The Daily Telegraph they believe Mr Deefholts paddled out to the remote island intentionally, and that all lines of inquiry and talks with family members had indicated so.

Marine Rescue NSW crews searching for the missing teen off the northern NSW coast near Coffs Harbour and Wooli. Picture: Supplied / Marine Rescue NSW

Theories about how the 19-year-old came to be on the island ranged from those suggesting he was driven there by boat, and others saying there was no possible way a current – even a strong one – would cast him adrift some eight nautical miles out to sea.

The ocean conditions on Wednesday and into Thursday were favourable with calm, light to moderate offshore winds.

Conditions on Thursday morning were calm. Picture: Toni Moon.

A photo taken off the beach early morning looking east to North Solitary Island shows dead flat conditions. You could practically swim out there.

A Wooli neighbour close to the teen said he had been heavily waxing up his surfboard before he ventured down to the beach, where his bike, clothes and shoes were found near a spot locally known as One Tree.

Marine Rescue NSW, along with NSW Police with the assistance of Polair, deployed search teams until 1am on Thursday before the search was called off and resumed later that morning.

The Wooli community banded together to help find the teen, with “expert” locals assessing wind and tide conditions and assuming he had ended up on the island, where he was later found.

Originally published as Revealed: How missing surfer Darcy Deefholts ended up stranded on remote island