Visit to Lake Erie beach leaves four would-be rescuers dead

HURON, Ohio -- They were no more than knee-deep in the water, seemingly safe from the churning waves being whipped up by an unusually strong wind blowing across Lake Erie.

Nine friends had just arrived at Nickel Plate Beach to enjoy a hot, sunny summer day on the sand.

Amy Anderson, 22, was wading in the surf a few yards from their beach blankets when a wave knocked her off balance and the strong current quickly yanked her under. She came up screaming, and her fiance and three friends fought against the waves to save her.

Anderson was eventually rescued by firefighters, but the four men never made it out.

"In 15 minutes, I lost a brother, a brother-in-law and two friends," said Talon Smith.

Blustery winds coming down from Canada on Wednesday had stirring up white-capped waves not usually found along Ohio's Lake Erie shore. It was so rough that charter boats canceled their fishing trips, and authorities that morning closed Nickel Plate Beach, about 50 miles west of Cleveland, to swimming.

Anderson, 22, and her friends had piled into two cars for their trip to the beach that day.

They were told at the gate that they couldn't swim, but they decided to stay.

Fliers handed to visitors warned that "if the waves look dangerous ... they probably are."

They spread out beach blankets and took some pictures. After a few minutes, the lure of the water was too much on a bright 80-degree day.

They asked a park worker if the waves were really too dangerous and were told "just be careful," Talon Smith said. "They asked her more than once."

Most of the beachgoes didn't go into the water as the waves reached 4 to 6 feet. Parents and children played in the sand.

Anderson told authorities she was little more than ankle deep in the water when the waves knocked her down.

The current pushed her farther from shore.