A FORMER MLB player died a hero after jumping into brutal waters to save a family, and was caught in a rip current in front of his wife and kids.
A South Carolina lawman lost his life tragically while on vacation with his family at Pawleys Island on Sunday.
A former MLB prospect tragically lost his life after saving strangers caught in a riptide[/caption]
Anderson “Chase” Childers, 39, died in front of his wife and three children[/caption]
Ex-MLB prospect Anderson “Chase” Childers, 39, was vacationing with his wife and three children when a woman asked him to help rescue swimmers who were stuck in the ocean, his family told WCBD.
Children instantly ran to the water to help the group.
“His first responder instincts kicked in and he went to the water to save people,” Pawleys Island Police Chief Michael Fanning said.
Childers and another individual helped the swimmers, identified as a family of five, return to shore safely at the vacation spot.
However, Childers disappeared in the water and was swept away by the riptide in front of his wife, Nataley, and their three kids.
The Coast Guard recovered Childers’ body about 90 minutes after he was last seen, the Pawley Police Department said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Childers, and $130,000-plus has been raised as of Thursday evening.
“As a devoted husband and father, he displayed extraordinary courage and selflessness. In a heroic act, he saved a family of five in a moment of crisis in Pawleys Island on Sunday afternoon, putting their lives above his own,” the post read.
“His bravery, kindness, and love will always be remembered.”
Childers was born in Nashville, Tennessee, before his family moved to Kennesaw, Georgia.
He played baseball for North Cobb Christian High School and Georgia State University, per the school’s website.
In 2009, Childers joined the Baltimore Orioles farm system, where he played second base and shortstop.
He left baseball a year later to become a uniformed patrol officer for the Cobb County Police Department, where he’d work for over three years.
During that span, Childers received the Cobb County Police Department Life Saving Award.
Childers was swept away by the tide in front of his wife, Nataley[/caption]
“We are saddened to learn of Chase’s passing, and send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” an Orioles spokesperson told WWNYTV.
Childers’ death was the fifth drowning on Pawleys Island since June 2023, and the second in the last month, WCBD reported.
Police on the island said they are taking more precautions to ensure the public’s safety for the future.
“We’re going to put up extra signage in the areas that are prone to these rip currents. We have life rings at all beach accesses, but I think we need to increase life rings in certain areas that are hazard-prone,” the Pawleys police chief said.
Childers played in the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system for one year before becoming a uniformed patrol officer for three years[/caption]
If one gets caught in a rip current, authorities advise “don’t panic, swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of the current.
“Then make your way back in.”
