A 35-year-old woman was swimming on May 26, 2020, in the 50-degree Pacific Ocean off of Seaside, Oregon, with a kickboard when she was pulled away from shore and shouted for help. Clam-digging nearby, Jason R. Milks, 40, responded. He ran 300 feet down the beach, removed his chest-high waders and other outer clothing, grabbed another kickboard and entered the water. Milks swam 450 feet to the woman, and instructed her to balance her chest on her kickboard and grab his ankles. Milks released his kickboard, and it floated away. He swam toward shore towing the woman, but every time a wave crashed over them, he stood upright in the water and held to the woman so they would not get separated, before he began swimming again. The woman was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia; she recovered. Milks was cold and nearly exhausted.
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