Former Lifeguard Rescues 2 Teens in Ventnor

It’s a good thing Rick Millan was lounging on the beach Saturday evening. And it's a good thing the Bryn Mawr man knows a thing or two when it comes to water rescues.

The former lifeguard wasn't quite sure what to think when he heard two teens yelling, “Help, I’m dying," Millan told the Press of Atlantic City.

"At first, I thought that they were messing around," Millan said. But his friend convinced him it was no joke. The two teens were caught in an undertow a little more than 100 yards off an unprotected beach in Ventnor.

Millan, 56,  found a boogie board the teens had been playing with and used it to tow them to safety with the help of other bystanders.

"It was an incredible rush of adrenaline," Millan told the paper. The water was rough, one teen was hysterical and "I'm pretty sure they both would have drowned," Millan said.

Firefighters and lifeguards got there in time to pull a third guy to safety.  He got caught in the rip current too, trying to rescue the boys, according Ventnor Fire Department's Deputy Chief, John Hazlett.

There were no lifeguards on duty at the Amherst Avenue beach at that time. Full Beach patrol staffing starts June 24. Until then only four beaches on weekends and two in weekdays are be guarded.

“We recommend that people make the effort to get in front of a lifeguard when they bathe,” said Hazlett.

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