Former Baseball Star Dies Trying To Save Drowning Swimmers

Chase Childers, a former professional baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles and a father of three children, passed away tragically on Sunday. He was attempting to rescue swimmers from a rip current off the coast of South Carolina and drowned.

Childers got into the water at 4:45 p.m. to provide assistance to a group of swimmers — reports say four or five individuals — struggling against rough waters off Pawleys Island. Pawleys Island is located 45 minutes south of Myrtle Beach.

Police said Childers “died trying to save others.” Another person had also gone with the former Oriole to lend a hand to the struggling swimmers. When authorities showed up on the scene, the only swimmer missing was Childers.

Police and fire officials, partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard, conducted a search and found his body.

Childers was originally drafted by the Orioles in 2009. He played in the minor league for a short time before going on to serve several years as a law enforcement officer in Cobb County, Georgia, a GoFundMe account for his family stated.

“Rip currents are powerful channels of water that flow rapidly and are often seen along all coasts of the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes on its website, noting that these currents can move at speeds of up to 8 feet per second,” CBS News reported. “Swimmers risk drowning when they fight against rip currents while trying to return to shore, according to NOAA. The National Weather Service warns that they are the deadliest and most common hazard swimmers face in waters off North and South Carolina.”

“The Town is saddened by the report of the drowning over the weekend. We pray for the family members and offer our condolences,” Pawleys Island Mayor Brian Henry said in a social media post about the incident. He then suggested the rip current is what caused Childer’s drowning.

Henry’s statement also said the town “urges caution when entering the water at any time and alertness of the ocean’s currents, particularly during high surf.” A town meeting is being organized so that officials in Pawleys Island will have an opportunity to discuss ways to reduce the likelihood of future drownings.

This includes education on rip currents and other weather and water conditions, as well as the threat they pose to individuals who swim or participate in other water activities.

“While Pawleys Island beaches are consistently rated as some of the best on the entire East Coast, we would like them to be known as the safest as well,” he concluded.