In a chaotic scene in the Atlantic Ocean off of Kure Beach, North Carolina, two sisters, 11 and 14, were pulled by a strong rip current to a point 110 feet from shore on April 18, 2021. Multiple people responded including Jessica Lea Embry, a 40-year-old, Wilmington, North Carolina, teacher, and Rayna Michele Montgomery, a 17-year-old, Stuart, Virginia, high school student. Embry reached at least one of the girls in water that was 9 feet deep, but she was repeatedly submerged by rough surf and eventually lost consciousness in the water. Rayna swam to the panicking 11-year-old who repeatedly submerged her. Rayna towed her to a point about 15 feet from shore where a man took the girl and brought her to safety. Rayna exited the ocean and vomited water she had swallowed. The 14-year-old girl also reached the beach, while firefighters rescued another man and Embry. Embry could not be revived; she had drowned. Rayna went to the hospital the following day; her treatment included the use of an inhaler for three days. She recovered.
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