Overview
- Derrick Moore, a 47-year-old DeKalb County teacher, entered the ocean on Aug. 7 to rescue a 10-year-old who had been pulled into a rip current and got her close enough to shore before he was swept away.
- Local police and fire units alerted U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston, and multi-agency search teams found Moore’s body washed ashore the next morning near 11th Avenue South.
- A public visitation is set for 9 a.m. and a celebration of life for 10 a.m. on Aug. 22 at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, with interment planned in Decatur, Illinois.
- The rescued girl has publicly thanked Moore, calling him her lifesaver, and Moore’s family and the DeKalb County School District have organized mourning supports and a GoFundMe for his four children.
- Rip currents are fast, narrow channels that can carry swimmers offshore and can endanger would-be rescuers, and officials have not yet released medical or forensic findings explaining why Moore collapsed.