LEWES, DE - Three off-duty North Shores Lifeguards reportedly wasted no time responding to a woman lost in the ocean off Lewes on Tuesday night, leading to her rescue.
North Shores Lifeguards Captain Kent Buckson tells WBOC the off-duty lifeguards overheard a request for responders to locate the woman over their scanners on July 1. Buckson says they immediately left their homes in Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach and traveled to North Shores. There, Buckson says they raced up the beach to Cape Henlopen Bath House in beach patrol vehicles.
Arriving at the Bath House, the three lifeguards noticed something about 300 yards out in the water. Realizing it was a person waving, the lifeguards swam out and secured the lost woman, according to Buckson. They then successfully brought her back to shore, where paramedics, park rangers, and fire department staff were waiting, Buckson said.
Buckson tells us the search for the woman had been underway for about an hour, including a state police helicopter and the Coast Guard, after she apparently could not get into her boat and drifted out to sea.
“I feel these lifeguards went the extra mile after hours, responding from Rehoboth via beach vehicles all the way to Lewes to save this woman's life,” Buckson said.