An Indiana woman drowned while trying to save her boyfriend from a rip current during a short trip to Puerto Rico.
The body of Simone Dawson, 22, was discovered in San Juan on Monday, nearly 24 hours after she disappeared overboard. The U.S. Coast Guard announced this.
Dawson had been visiting the island with friends when “two of her friends were caught in a strong rip current that hit the area Sunday evening,” authorities said.
Dawson's friends were rescued by passersby, but the woman was swept away.
Family members said she died while trying to rescue her boyfriend who was caught in a rip current.
“That's just the type of person she was,” said Dawson's cousin, Siadjanai Wiang. He told Fox 12.
“Even if I had been on that beach and seen Simone's loved one in pain, I wouldn't have been able to get Simone to not get back in the water.”
The US Coast Guard launched a massive search for Dawson after a passerby “heard screams on the beach” at around 6.30pm on Sunday.
Several aircraft, helicopters and boats took part in the search.
The couple had been visiting San Juan to celebrate a birthday with friends when the tragedy occurred.
Dawson was an avid traveler and Puerto Rico was one of her favorite places, her close friends said.
“I felt nauseous. I felt like I had so much to say,” one of Dawson's cousins said. “I felt like I couldn't breathe.”
