Paulding Teens Rescue Drowning Florida Couple

On April 11, two seniors from South Paulding High School, Tyler Feagan and Dillon Humphries, were enjoying Spring Break in Panama City Beach, FL., when they noticed a couple struggling to stay afloat. When Feagan and Humphries looked closer, they observed a man and woman adjacent to the Panama City Pier drowning. Little did they know, the struggling swimmers were caught in a rip current that was slowly pulling them out to sea. Humphries and Feagan immediately jumped into the water to help the drowning individuals.

Humphries explained, "We just look over and we hear these two people screaming 'help,' and we didn't know what to do. So, of course, we just swam out there and tried to help them. We noticed that he can't swim and she was pregnant. So I had to carry her back into the sandbar until we could both stand there."

Feagan stated, “My guy, he was pushing me down trying to use me as a floatation device and I told him just get off me and breathe, through his nose and not his mouth” Luckily a Lifeguard saw what was happening and swam over and assisted in the rescue.

As a result of the heroic actions of Humphries and Feagan, the man and woman were rescued from the dangerous rip current. Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge noted, “the actions of the young men were both heroic and exemplary of what someone should do in an emergency”. Sheriff Gulledge went on to explain that we are especially proud of Tyler Feagan because he is also one of the high school interns that is employed at the Sheriff’s Office as well as a member of our Explorer Post 110. The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office wants to congratulate Dillon Humphries and Tyler Feagan on their life saving efforts.