Emily Shoff
SOUTH JORDAN — Wasps nearly claimed the life of a Utah man during a family vacation on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, last week.
Jake Shoff, of South Jordan, survived thanks to the intervention of what his wife described as “angels” — two passing strangers who put their own lives at risk to keep his head above water.
Shoff and his wife, Emily, had taken their sons Zach, 14, Brady, 10 and Grant, 3, out on a pair of kayaks on the Hanalei River on Tuesday. They started their day with a prayer, asking for safety and were floating down a placid stretch near the town of Princeville when Jake’s boat veered into brush along the riverbank.