Chase Childers, who briefly played with the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, died this week trying to save swimmers off the coast of South Carolina.
Childers, a father of three, died attempting to “save swimmers from a rip current off the coast of South Carolina on Sunday, authorities said,” per CBS News.
Chase Childers, who was briefly signed by the Baltimore Orioles, entered the water around 4:45 p.m. to help a group of four or five swimmers as they struggled against the current off Pawleys Island, a coastal town roughly 45 minutes south of Myrtle Beach by car, according to the Pawleys Island Police Department.
“He died trying to save others,” the police department said of Childers, who had gone into the ocean with another person.
Childers was the only swimmer missing when authorities arrived at the scene, according to police. Around 6:15 p.m., after a search by officers, fire officials and members of the U.S. Coast Guard, his body was recovered.
We would like to provide additional information on Sunday's incident. The victim, Chase Childers, and another person entered the water to help 4-5 individuals who were in distress. Sadly, Mr. Childers was caught in the rip current, as well. He died trying to save others.
— Pawleys Island PD (@PawleysIslandPD) July 15, 2025
Major League Baseball stats show that Childers was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2009 before going on to play minor league baseball. He then moved into serving as a police officer in Cobb County, Georgia.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of our beloved Chase. It feels surreal, incredibly hard to grasp, and profoundly unfair,” his family wrote in a GoFundMe that has since raised $154,000.
“Chase Childers was a remarkably talented man of many things. He was a former professional baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles, a police officer in Cobb County who received a lifetime achievement award for saving several lives, a skilled fisherman, and a builder capable of constructing anything he envisioned,” the statement added. “Most importantly, he was a loving son, a dedicated brother, a treasured friend, an exceptional father to his three wonderful children, and the husband of his beautiful wife, Nataley, who had been his soulmate and best friend since they were teenagers.”
