Kids obviously aren't aware of the undertow. Each time they bounced or left their feet the undertow would take them a little further out until they were eventually over their heads without realizing it it. The Sgt called it the waves but the waves move toward shore not away from it. As the water recedes it does so from underneath and is unnoticable by looking at the surface. Can be very dangerous for unsupervised kids and poor swimmers.
You called it! Undertow and rip tides have plagued the Emerald Coast shoreline since the Hurricanes of 2005 hit this area hard, and apparently destroyed some sand bars that had been protecting the shoreline from undertow and rip tides.
Over the past 2 weeks, since tropical storm Arlene, I've been reading how the area has been bothered with rip tides since Jeanne and Ivan came through. Shoreline and beach restoration is still being implemented, with some major areas near Pensacola not yet finished.
And the poster above is correct - yet another piece of news that the media won't publish. I live here, and haven't seen this on either the local news or in the NWFL Daily News!! Without the AF news service, we wouldn't know about this hero, SSGT Nagy.
Someone near him noticed the children might be in trouble, but it took SSGT Nagy to react and rescue them!! Way to go, Air Force!!