Robert D. Hesse saved Kathy Decker from drowning, Madeira Beach, Florida, September 16, 1984. Miss Decker, 31, a non-swimmer, was wading in the Gulf of Mexico when she was pulled by a strong tidal current into deep water near John’s Pass. She floundered and cried for help as she struggled against the current. Hesse, 59, writer, swimming near shore, heard her cries and, entering the current, swam about 100 feet to Miss Decker, who had submerged and lost consciousness. Hesse towed Miss Decker about 60 feet through the current to a rock jetty, where onlookers helped them ashore. Miss Decker was hospitalized for water in her lungs; she recovered.
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