Louisiana Man Saves Three Strangers From Deadly Rip Current

Jordan Matthew was finishing a routine shuttle shift at Elmer's Island Refuge near Grand Isle when people started waving him down frantically. What he heard next made him sprint toward the ocean.

A young boy had been swept into a violent rip current near Caminada Pass. A woman, believed to be a family member, had jumped in to save him and gotten trapped too. A third woman swimming nearby was also pulled under.

None of the three could swim.

"They were bobbing under, the waves were crashing over their heads," Matthew recalled. "It was a rough sight."

Matthew had zero formal lifeguard training. But he didn't hesitate.

He rushed into the water and reached the boy first, pulling him to safer ground. Then he guided the first woman back toward shore before swimming out to the third victim, who had drifted farther away and was losing strength.

As he worked, Matthew kept encouraging the exhausted woman to stay calm and save her energy. After reaching her, he grabbed hold and brought her back to land, carrying her over his shoulder for part of the journey.

Matthew described entering what he calls "absolute focus" during the rescue. "I activated that in my mind, just locked in, and went one by one and went get them," he said. "I didn't really have too many thoughts going."

All three people made it safely to shore before emergency responders arrived. Though shaken, everyone survived.

Sunny's Take

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries publicly thanked Matthew for his heroic actions, crediting his quick response with saving three lives. The grateful family invited Matthew to dinner that evening as a small thank you for giving them something priceless: the chance to go home together.

One shuttle driver's split-second decision to run toward danger instead of away from it meant three families didn't lose someone they loved that day.