ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. — A North Carolina sheriff's captain said he is not a hero after saving a girl's life while he was off-duty.
Nash County Captain Allen Wilson said he was enjoying a day at Atlantic Beach Sunday when he noticed several kids and one of them was drifting from shore.
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"Got close and asked her if she could swim and she was panicking, you could tell she was panicking," Wilson said. "By this time I was already getting pretty exhausted so I knew if we could just get enough, maybe one of the waves would pick us up and bring us. And it did, thank the Lord, we were able to get a little closer and a little closer."
She was on a float, but a wave knocked her off. She tried to swim to it, but couldn't reach it.
Wilson said he quickly grabbed a boogie board and a pool noodle and ran into the ocean to help her.
Officials said both of them made it to shore safely.
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Wilson said he is getting a lot of praise for his heroism, but he is deflecting that to someone else.
"It's not about me, I'll be the first to tell you," Wilson said. "God, I believe, placed me there and he gave me the tools to use to go get this young girl."
Wilson said on a good day, he can barely swim the length of a pool, yet the girl was about 100-yards from shore.