Families Looking For Man Who Saved Children From Rip Current In Seal Beach

SEAL BEACH (CBSLA) – Two women are looking for a man they call the "Mystery Cowboy" who pulled their three children out of a strong current in Seal Beach.

It was a stunning day at Seal Beach when two families learned the hard way that the strength of the water can be deceiving.

"I felt like I was gonna die," said 8-year-old Izzy Levington.

Izzy was playing in ankle-deep water with her big brother, Elijah, and her best friend, Amelia, when a massive wave crashed down and the current swept her out to sea.

"I tried to go under the waves to swim back to shore, but then it kept on coming and it pushed me back," Izzy said.

Within seconds, the little girl couldn't breathe.

"I could barely even see my sister's face in there, but I knew she was in trouble 'cause I could see her bow," 10-year-old Elijah said.

That's when Elijah screamed for help, and a stranger wearing skinny jeans, a plaid shirt and possibly cowboy boots came to their rescue.

"It was like amazing. He just came running and dove in the water and pulled her out," Elijah said.

When the children's mothers ran over to help, they also got sucked under and needed to be rescued.

"I fought with everything I had and the strength of the undertow was unbelievable," Traci Morales said.

Morales and Samantha Meleg, Amelia's mother, say they were able to give the unknown hero a hug. But in the commotion, they didn't catch his name.

They said they believe his name was David or Daniel, and now, they want to give him a proper thank you.

"I really want to find him, to thank him. So he knows what he did mattered," Morales said.

His efforts were nothing short of miraculous, the mothers said.

"Somebody wasn't gonna come out of that without him," Meleg said.

They say there's nothing they can do to repay him, but at the very least, they'd like to replace the man's wallet and phone that were in his pockets when he jumped into the water.

"If I had a million dollars, I would give it to him."

The mothers say anyone with information about the man can contact them through Facebook: Traci Morales and Samantha Meleg.