Strangers save mom drowning at Galveston Beach

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- A mother says she is alive, only because of the quick thinking of her daughter and the lifesaving work of strangers.

Nancy Beaman says it was near 17th and Seawall where she nearly drowned in the Gulf. Now she's hoping the men who rescued her will come forward so she can give a proper thanks.

"I just wanted to get wet. It was so hot," she said.

Nancy says Thursday was supposed to be a girl's day of fun, hanging out on Galveston Beach with her best friend and their children. But bruises now covering the Missouri City mom's body show something went seriously wrong.

"All of a sudden there was a wave that came, and it must have just taken us out, because all of a sudden I lost the floorboard completely," she said.

Beaman says she panicked as the rough current took her farther from shore, seperating her from her daughter Lauren.

"The waves started pushing us, and pushing us, and we were saying 'Mom,' 'Lauren,' 'Mom,' 'Lauren,' and we couldn't get to each other," Lauren said.

Beaman says she tried her best to get the attention of a couple of men who were on a jetti fishing nearby.

"I screamed at the top of my lungs for help. I said 'Please help us, please help us, help me and my daughter,'" she said.

Beaman says those unknown fishermen turned out to be her lifesavers. She says they tossed her a life preserver as 10-year-old Lauren swam out trying to pull her mom in.

"I owe them my life. There's no question in my mind; had he not been there," Beaman said.

Now Beaman wants to meet those brave fishermen who rescued her. She says she didn't get the guys' names as emergency workers rushed her to the hospital for the cuts and salt water she ingested.

Beaman and her family say they just want to meet those fishermen to say thanks.

"I just thank God they were there. They were my angels," she said.

Workers with the Galveston beach patrol say they will work with Beaman to try to connecting her with those fishermen, who are from Houston.

If you have any idea who they are, feel free to email demond fernandez at demond.fernandez@abc.com.

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