Sources have stated that when Jessica and Derek Simmons first saw the beachgoers pausing to stare toward the water, the young couple just assumed someone had spotted a shark. Sources have stated that it was the evening of July 8, after all, peak summer season in Panama City Beach for overheated Florida tourists to cross paths with curious marine life. Then they noticed flashing lights by the boardwalk, a police truck on the sand and nearly a dozen bobbing heads about 100 yards beyond the beach, crying desperately for help.
It was stated that six members of a single family four adults and two young boys and four other swimmers had been swept away by a powerful and deceptive riptide churning below the water's surface.
Meanwhile on shore, the human chain began forming, first with just five
volunteers, then 15, and then dozens more as the rescue mission grew more
desperate. Moreover Jessica and Derek Simmons swam past the 80 or so human
links, some who couldn't swim, and headed straight for the Ursreys.
