Overview
- Derrick Moore, a 47-year-old elementary school teacher from Loganville, Georgia, entered the ocean on Friday to help a young girl caught in a rip current and collapsed after getting her to shore.
- Search teams from the Myrtle Beach Police Department, Myrtle Beach Fire Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted overnight grid searches and recovered Moore’s body washed ashore near 11th Avenue South the next morning.
- Authorities say the rescue occurred after lifeguards had left the beach and the Myrtle Beach Police Department has opened an active investigation into the drowning.
- Local schools and colleagues in DeKalb County have mourned Moore, known as “Coach,” and the district has offered counselors at his current and former schools for students and staff; he is survived by four children.
- A social-media post claims Moore may have also saved a man, but that account has not been confirmed by police; the incident has renewed attention to the hazards of rip currents and risks to bystander rescuers when lifeguards are off duty.