Jeffery Scott Dinkins, 41, a college student from Lewisville, N.C., died after helping to save a girl from drowning in the Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach, S.C., on July 7, 2011. A 6-year-old girl and her father were wading in the ocean when they were caught in a current that took them into deeper water. With them were family friends, Dinkins and his young son. Dinkins was able to take his son to the beach, but the girl and her father made no progress against the current. Dinkins returned to them, reaching them at a point about 150 feet from shore. He took the girl from her father and started to swim to shore with her but on the way in encountered difficulty and began to struggle. Others took the girl to safety, and her father also reached shore safely. Dinkins, who had lost consciousness, was returned to shore, but resuscitation efforts were not successful.
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Officer John Smith,
2019 Awardee