Lauren Winstead helped to save Eddie L. Torres from drowning, Destin, Florida, July 5, 2009. When Torres, 53, left his party’s boat to swim in Choctawhatchee Bay at a point about two miles from shore, a strong ebb current flowing into the Gulf of Mexico pulled him away from the boat. A friend swam to him and supported him while shouting for help; unbeknownst to the men, their party’s boat was disabled. Lauren, 12, student, also had entered the water to swim and was drifting away. She was able to return against the current toward the boat, from which her mother threw boat bumpers into the water for use as flotation devices. Retrieving one of the bumpers, Lauren turned and swam a considerable distance to Torres and his friend. As the friend then left to return to the boat, Lauren helped Torres stay afloat with use of the bumper. The distance between them and their boat increasing, they attempted to swim ashore but made little progress. The boat’s operator had called the Coast Guard, which sent a rescue boat to the scene. Torres, Lauren, and the friend were taken aboard that boat and returned to safety.
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