Danish Tourist Dies in Dramatic St. Croix Rescue of Michigan Mayor

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A Danish tourist died while saving an Oakland County mayor Sunday as he was boogie boarding in choppy waters off the U.S. Virgin Islands.

South Lyon Mayor Tedd Wallace, who spends six weeks every winter in St. Croix, was about to be swept into a mass of rocks by a riptide when his would-be rescuer went under water and didn’t surface. A second rescuer dove in and pulled Wallace from the water.

“They’re both heroes,” Wallace told the Observer & Eccentric. “The rescuer said he didn’t know why he climbed up on the rocks. He said he looked over to the left and realized that we were in trouble.”

The dramatic rescue occurred in rough waters near the Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort and Spa.

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The stranger who eventually rescued Wallace reportedly told the St. Croix Avis newspaper that he was guided by “some kind of divine intervention.”

Wallace isn’t arguing.

“I really thought for about 10 minutes that my end had come. I was hanging on to the boogie board and crashing down and coming up,” Wallace said. “Miraculously this hand was reaching out for me. The whole ocean just shifted and took me so fast. I’m done doing that activity for the rest of my life, and I’m thankful for what life I have left.”

The rescuer who lost his life was in his 70s. Wallace said he doesn’t know his name, only that he heard his calls for help and responded as the tide was pulling him toward a mass of rocks. Wallace said he called to the stranger to hang onto the boogie board.

“All of a sudden, he just went under,” the St. Croix newspaper reported. “I don’t know if he had a heart attack or what.”

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Photo via Creative Commons