Teen surfer saves Air Force veteran after wipeout

One Wave, Two Lives: How a 19-Year-Old Saved an Air Force Veteran in Oceanside

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Sometimes a single wave can change everything.

For Scott Muir, a 12-year U.S. Air Force veteran, husband, and father of two, surfing was second nature — part of the rhythm of his life. But on the calm Sunday morning of September 28, the ocean had other plans.

“My first words were, ‘Who pulled me out of the water? Who saved me?’” Muir recalled. “And then I saw Judah’s face and said, ‘Dude, you saved my life.’”

That “dude” was 19-year-old Judah Ely, a young surfer who just happened to be in the right place at the right second.

Moments earlier, Muir had been laughing with a pair of teenage surfers, playfully jockeying for position on the waves.

“We were playing cat and mouse, trying to outdo each other to catch the best one,” Muir said.

Then came that wave — the one that changed everything.

“It was one of the best waves I’d had all day,” he said. “But before I knew it, it lifted me, flipped me, and drove me straight down. I hit the bottom headfirst.”

The impact shattered the moment — and Muir’s mobility. Paralyzed and face-down underwater, his body wouldn’t respond.

“I felt hands on me, and I remember thinking, that’s weird… someone’s touching me,” Muir said.

Those hands belonged to Ely.

“I was waiting for him to pop up so I could congratulate him,” Ely said. “Every second that passed, I got more worried. I jumped off my board and swam as fast as I could. Those ten seconds were the scariest of my life.”

Ely, along with his friend Thomas Alspaugh, a junior lifeguard, pulled Muir to shore, yelling for help from nearby surfers and lifeguards.

“Usually everyone’s focused on getting the best wave,” Alspaugh said. “But that day, it was all about looking out for each other.”

Before that moment, Muir had only exchanged smiles and a few words with the teens — but he believes that brief connection saved his life.

“That goodwill in the water, that’s what kept them looking for me,” he said.

Muir has since regained movement in his arms and one leg. He’s now in intensive spinal rehabilitation, determined to walk — and one day surf — again.

Ironically, just weeks before the accident, he had completed a 30-mile paddle from Catalina Island to Newport Beach, raising thousands for ocean lifesaving scholarships. Now, the lifesaving came full circle.

“It’s surreal,” Muir said. “I helped raise money for lifesavers — and then those lifesavers found me.”

As he works toward recovery, Muir says he’s most grateful for the friendship born in those terrifying moments — and for the reminder that a little kindness, even out on the waves, can ripple further than anyone expects.