Two teenage girls were swimming on June 22, 2023, in the Atlantic Ocean off of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, when they were caught in a rip current and struggled to swim. Wind gusted up to 28 m.p.h., creating 6-foot waves and choppy water. As the older of the two girls was carried out farther from shore, financial advisor Michael Louis Lesan, 41, of Cincinnati, was on the beach with his family when he spotted the girls. He entered the ocean and swam about 120 feet to the older girl, who was bobbing in the strong waves. Lesan reached her and grasped her by the arm. He started to swim toward shore as waves crashed over them, being pushed and pulled. The girl submerged with Lesan twice, and he began to tire. Once both could stand close to shore, the girl walked out of the water on her own. Lesan walked, then crawled a few feet to exit the water. The girl vomited water on the beach while Lesan was nearly exhausted. Both recovered.
