Nine People Almost Drowned Then a 'Human Chain' of Strangers Came to Their Rescue

I'm thrilled to share this new Write About Now episode with you. It's an audio-tastic retelling of a story I wrote for the August 2018 issue of Good Housekeeping. You can find it on the newsstands and online right here. 

Roberta Ursrey and Jessica and Erik Simmons recount the harrowing tale of how the Ursrey family and 4 other swimmers, were trapped in a deadly rip current off the coast of a Panama City, FL. beach.

Photo courtesy of Roberta Ursrey

With no lifeguards on duty and the tide getting stronger by the minute, it seemed like they might not make it.

Then they were spotted by the Simmons' who wrangled together a bunch of strangers of all races, ages, and nationalities to rescue them. 

Jessica and Erik

I won't spoil what happens next but let's just say it could have been a lot worse. Video was captured of the heroic event and the story immediately went viral. 

Robert and Jessica have since become BFFs and consider what happened that day to be a complete miracle. Says Roberta of the rescue, "It has inspired so many people that they've regained their faith in humanity that day."

The world needs that these days.