Emily Weaver Brown was at Golden Gardens Park last night with her six-month old when she heard what sounded like someone yelling for help. “I spotted what looked two ducks out on the water near a buoy about 500 yards off shore,” she explains on her blog about last night’s swimming tragedy. Moments later, she saw a paddle boarder. “He slowly started making his way back towards the shore and I shouted, ‘Did you hear someone call for help?’ and I pointed towards the buoy,” she explains. “‘Can you check?’ I screamed.” She says he took off toward the buoy. Minutes later, as we learned last night, he was able to reach one swimmer and let him hold his board until the Coast Guard arrived. The other swimmer had already disappeared beneath the current. “In my mind he is a true hero and Good Samaritan,” she explains.
Here’s a photo Brown snapped from the shore of the paddle boarder — whose identity is a mystery — helping the surviving swimmer. (The buoy is on the left, and the paddle boarder and swimmer on the right.) By the way, she says that the two swimmers had decided to swim to the buoy, but when they reached it they were too tired and cold to make it back. You can see more photos of the rescue and read her full account on her blog here.
Paddle boarder ‘true hero’ at Golden Gardens
