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Judie Gibson: Good Samaritan talks about rescuing swimmers

Posted at 4:46 PM, Jun 02, 2014
and last updated 2017-03-08 10:15:01-05

The search continues for 27-year-old Yusnjear Sonora who disappeared while swimming off of Juno Beach. Currently, 132 square miles are being searched using a helicopter and a boat. 

He is one of several people who were in danger in the water over the weekend.

At Ocean Reef Park in Riviera Beach several young cousins were playing together in the water Sunday evening when they encountered trouble.

Three of them were released from the hospital Monday afternoon after being treated for swallowing large amounts of salt water.

The kids say they were playing in the ocean when suddenly they were a long way from shore. They were rapidly pushed away from the coastline by a rip current.

"Far off shore, and I know, we were trying to swim back and I had a lot salt water in my lungs so I was like, couldn't breathe," said Terrion Young.

The children say they are very scared of going to the beach now.

Ka'Rod Young, who is 14-years-old, says he is not going back.  The experience was overwhelming.  "I can't explain it, it just happened."

They say they owe their lives to good Samaritan Judie Gibson. "I just, I guess in a flight or fight mode, just grabbed a boogie board and jumped in the water and started going after the kids."

She credits a NewsChannel 5 meteorologist for knowing what to do. "Thanks to (NewsChannel 5 Meteorologist) Glenn Glazer from your station, a couple of weeks ago he did a special on the rip tide.  Even though I'm in the water all the time and I live here on Singer Island, I never experienced what he was explaining but I knew instantly what to do just because of what he was explaining."

"She was telling me to go away from the rip tide, don't go into it," Tremaine Dent said.

"She went in trying to save them, risking her life, that was such, that was an angel, she was in the right place at the right time," said mother Tasha Butler.

Lifeguards say you should understand how to get out of a rip current and always pay attention to signs and warning flags on the beach.

For more information about Palm Beach County beaches and how they are guarded, visit: http://www.pbcgov.com/parks/aquatics/beaches/

For a WPTV Weather Blog regarding rip currents and safety, visit: http://www.wptv.com/weather/weather-blogs/rip-current-safety