NC teacher dies trying to save children from rip current

The Kure Beach Police Department said in a news release that emergency crews were dispatched around 5:45 p.m. after receiving a report of multiple swimmers in distress, with witnesses saying two children were caught in a rip current, news outlets reported.

Don't be fooled: Rip currents occur in beautiful beach weather

Police said several bystanders and members of the Kure Beach Fire Department went into the Atlantic Ocean and brought the children to shore. One of the rescuers, Jessica Lea Embry, became distressed as she helped to save the children, according to the news release.

Embry was brought to shore and emergency personnel performed CPR, but Embry was pronounced dead at the scene. Another rescuer was taken to the hospital for observation while others were treated at the scene, officials said.

Embry was a fine arts teacher at Ashley High School in Wilmington and the director of the school’s orchestra. Grief counselors went to the school on Monday to help students and staff.

“There are no words I can offer to express how profound this loss is for our school and community,” Ashley High Principal Patrick McCarty said in a statement. “I struggle to speak about this incident to others because of the type of person Jessica Embry was personally and professionally."

McCarty noted that Embry started a group that paired her orchestra students with special-needs students to help the latter learn how to play music.

"She approached every day as a challenge to be a better person and to help more people in the process. She will be greatly missed," Jacki Booth, arts director of New Hanover County Schools, said in a statement.