Float dedicated to woman who drowned helps save lives of four caught in NC rip current

A flotation device recently dedicated to a woman who drowned helped rescue four swimmers trapped in a rip current, North Carolina officials said.

A pair of men raced into the water at Oak Island on July 4 after seeing two people struggling in the ocean, according to Oak Island Water Rescue. Yellow flags were flying at the time to indicate a moderate risk of rip currents, the agency said.

Two swimmers had initially been caught in a rip current, and the two others started to struggle after going into the water to try to help them, a post on the agency’s Facebook page says.

One of the men had grabbed a floating rescue tube stationed at the beach before jumping in to help, the post says. All four made it out safely.

The rescue tube is part of a water rescue station that was dedicated to Toni Watts, who drowned off Oak Island on June 14, 2022, according to Oak Island Water Rescue.

Watts, 67, of Knoxville, Tennessee, drowned after she was caught in a rip current, WATE reported.

The water rescue station was dedicated in Watts’ memory a year after her death and was sponsored by an anonymous donor, according to Oak Island Water Rescue.

Members of her family as well as local officials remembered Watts during a dedication ceremony on June 14.

“We heard about the wonderful person Toni was and how valuable she was to her family,” the agency said in a Facebook post. “We heard how appreciative her family is for the love and kindness demonstrated by the Oak Island community.”

Watts’ daughter, Joy Watts Chadwick, wrote on Facebook that her mother died while vacationing at the beach with her husband for their 46th wedding anniversary.

She said the beach and the ocean were her mother’s “happy place.”

”One of her favorite things was the ocean,” Chadwick told McClatchy News.

She described her mother as a loving, caring person who was passionate about the work she did through her church.

“She was my best friend,” Chadwick said. “She loved everybody. She loved Jesus.”

Chadwick said she cried when she heard that the station dedicated to her mother’s memory had aided in the rescue of four people.

“Just to know that good things are happening because of what we’ve gone through,” she said through tears. “It’s just really touching.”

Her mother’s death was the third fatal drowning in June 2022, according to Oak Island Water Rescue.

Chadwick said her mother and the others whose lives were lost sparked the movement toward safer beaches.

“Her loss was not in vain,” she said.

Oak Island is a coastal town about 30 miles south of Wilmington.

This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Float dedicated to woman who drowned helps save lives of four caught in NC rip current."