DSS Special Agent (SA) Andrew Curran teamed up with a friend to rescue two young girls being dragged down by a rip current in the surf at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
SA Curran was enjoying time off between serving at U.S. Embassy Kabul and preparing for his next post at U.S. Embassy Wellington. He was cruising the beach in an off-road vehicle with friend Jeffery Del Monte II, a captain in the Duck (N.C.) Fire Department when they heard the screams of children struggling in dangerous rip currents.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore said in a news release after the May 15, 2020, rescue that two young girls, reported to be about 9 years old, were 75-100 yards offshore and “apparently struggling while being swept out in a rip current.”
SA Curran and Captain Del Monte spotted the two girls and dove into the surf. Captain Del Monte was able to grab one of the girls and pass her to SA Curran for the “lengthy swim” back to shore, according to the release. Captain Del Monte then found the second girl”in distress” but was able to get her to the beach. The two 2 men then cared for them until Dare County Emergency Medical Services and a Cape Hatteras National Seashore ranger arrived on the scene.
“Andrew did not enter the water seeking recognition, nor did he swim the first victim to the shore and provide care seeking recognition,”said Captain Del Montein an email to DSS Public Affairs. “I am proud to call Andrew my “friend” and to give him the name recognition he deserves.”
Captain Del Monte said he sent the email because he was recognized in local media after the rescue,but SA Curran did not want to be named.
“His actions that day represent the best of public service and proved critical in the rescue of two young girls, which could have had a tragically different ending,”he wrote.
He added that Andrew was not only involved in the rescue,but ensured the story was brought to light to raise public awareness on the dangerous consequences of rip currents and the importance of situational awareness anytime children are in the ocean—thus potentially saving even more lives in the future.