‘Ultimate superhero’: Family says man drowned while saving sons from SC tide

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — A community in Indian Trail is mourning after a husband and father drowned off North Myrtle Beach earlier this month.

Channel 9 Reporter Eli Brand spoke with family members who said their loved one died like a hero.

Flowers, family photos, gifts, and mementos are all reminders for JoAnn Boddie of her husband Michael.

Boddie described how two weeks ago, the family decided to travel to North Myrtle Beach for a quick getaway. She said they had a lot to celebrate because their twins were finishing fifth grade and their oldest daughter was graduating from high school.

Boddie went on to say that it was a sunny day on July 13 when they set up on the sand. However, a while later, she noticed their young sons struggling in the tide.

That is when her husband jumped into action to save them, but then the tide took him too.

“My husband kept telling the boys, ‘Jump! Jump!’ So, the lifeguard finally gets to them, and my husband pushes the boys to her, and the waves take him,” Boddie said.

She said thanks to his quick actions, the boys were saved; however, Michael was lost. She described how paramedics and doctors spent more than an hour trying to restart his heart but simply could not.

His daughter Kennedy said the tragedy was just weeks before she is set to leave for college.

“He’s the ultimate superhero. That’s how we’ll always see him. And his ultimate sacrifice just proves how much of a superhero he is to me and my little brothers,” Kennedy said.

A superhero who now has his cape and his wings, leaving the earth as he lived on it, serving his family.

“He sacrificed so much for us. For our family. And he made the ultimate sacrifice by saving them. And he lost his life, and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Boddie said.

A GoFundMe has been set up on behalf of the Boddie family to help with funeral expenses. You can find that link here.

(WATCH BELOW: Nearly 70 people rescued from rip currents along North Carolina beaches)

Nearly 70 people rescued from rip currents along North Carolina beaches

©2024 Cox Media Group