A 10-year-old was struggling in a rip current when a stranger became her hero. Now two families are forever linked

By Julianna Bragg, CNN

A Georgia teacher was enjoying a day at the beach before the start of the new school year when he heard a cry for help.

Without hesitation, Derrick Moore leaped into action.

More than 30 yards offshore, a 10-year-old girl was being pulled out by a rip current.

The girl, Summer McCallum, was on a beach trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, planned by her uncle to honor the sixth anniversary of her father’s death. Her uncle, Ernest McCallum, had been watching her enjoy a few more minutes in the water as the sun began to fall.

But the calm day gave way to terror when her uncle again looked out into the ocean and saw Summer’s head bobbing in and out of the water.

As the girl’s uncle sprinted into the ocean, he wasn’t alone. A stranger — Moore — rushed in right behind him.

Moore, a 47-year-old elementary school teacher, had spent most of his career teaching children around Summer’s age. At Rockbridge Elementary School outside Atlanta, students lovingly called him “Coach.”

Now, he was urgently racing toward a child he had never met.

McCallum hit the water and pushed himself toward his niece, using every ounce of his energy to get to her, before the current pulled him under and swept him away.

When McCallum came up for air, relief washed over him as he saw the stranger with Summer. He quickly went back to shore, returning to the water with several other men holding boogie boards to rescue the pair.

But halfway there, McCallum lost sight of Moore. And by the time they reached Summer, he was gone.

Summer told McCallum the man instructed her to hold onto his arm. When the other rescuers got closer, he pushed her toward them, allowing them to pull her to safety.

Around the same time hundreds of miles away while on a trip to St. Louis, Suzette Moore received a call from her son’s fiancée. He had gone missing trying to save a little girl in the ocean, his fiancée told her.

Suzette Moore threw her hands in the air and began to pray she would see her son, Derrick Moore, again.

‘He was a hero before that day’

Jumping into the water to save a stranger was an unsurprising act to anyone who knew Derrick Moore.

The father of four “did anything and everything with a smile,” and was known as an “energetic, polite, special hero,” his colleague, Sherry Weeks, told CNN affiliate WMBF.

That spirit followed Derrick Moore through the schools where he worked. He previously taught at Jolly Elementary School near Atlanta, where he was named the 2024 teacher of the year.

His brother, Kameron Glasper, said many children at the school loved soccer. Though Derrick Moore had never played or coached the sport, that didn’t stop him from starting a team so the students could have an extracurricular activity to call their own.

Suzette Moore described her son as a “free spirit” who loved people so much that when he was a child, she took him to the police department to be fingerprinted because she worried someone might take him. He was that friendly, she said.

But as Derrick Moore’s family waited for word of his rescue, the outcome they feared slowly became a reality.

A day after the girl’s rescue, on August 8, the beloved teacher’s body washed ashore, according to the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

Derrick Moore not only saved Summer’s life, McCallum said, but his own, too.

He said he would have stopped at nothing to reach her, even if it meant losing his own life in the process. But Derrick Moore’s act of courage meant he never had to make that choice.

“He was a hero before that day. He was a hero to his family, his kids, his daddy, his mama, his family. He was a hero then. He just became a hero to everybody else on Friday,” he said.

‘I really owe my life to you’

In addition to those who knew Derrick Moore, his death has affected McCallum and Summer in different ways.

McCallum said Summer doesn’t yet understand the severity of what happened, but she knows all too well what it’s like to lose someone important, having experienced several family deaths over the past few years.

Holding hands with her uncle, Summer told CNN affiliate WFMY that, if she could, she would share a simple yet heartfelt message with Derrick Moore: “Thank you, I really owe my life to you.”

“I get to go back to school and love my family more than I did,” she continued, appearing to hold back tears.

After the tragic act of heroism, McCallum said he wanted to speak with Derrick Moore’s family to thank them for the selfless rescue of his niece — and in hopes of learning more about his life and who he was.

McCallum told CNN that if he could speak with Derrick Moore’s family, he would tell them, “he’s every bit of what they say he is,” referencing the man’s complete lack of hesitation to risk everything for a stranger in need.

Suzette Moore confirmed she has since spoken with McCallum. When she heard the little girl had lost her father on the same day years ago, told CNN it hit her “like a ton of bricks.”

A lasting legacy

While Suzette Moore hoped to see her son again, she said her family found closure in his body being found at the shore.

His son, Justin Moore, told CNN he was a “father figure to many and a coach to hundreds of athletes & students.”

Now, Suzette Moore sits in the Georgia home she bought years ago, looking out at the house where her son lived. It was a house that brought her closer to her son and her grandchildren, though she never imagined the view would become a reminder of what she lost.

But the happiness Derrick Moore brought to others persists inside that home. Family and friends continue to gather there, filling the rooms with laughter and fond memories of the life he lived.

While they continue to grieve ahead of his funeral service on August 26, his family remains proud of him and is determined to honor his name and legacy.

“My son is the type of person that would do it again,” Suzette Moore said. “Even though we have lost my son, I’m not mad at anybody. … I’m sure he is thankful that he was able to save them, especially the little girl.”

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