'It's just an emptiness in a mother's heart'

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By Erica Rush KCBY News

CHARLESTON, Ore. -- Roy Tyler and his new bride were playing in the tide pools along Simpson Beach with his sister and nephew, Craig Leone, 6, when a wave hit, pulling Leone out into the sea.

Tyler, 39,  pushed his loved ones back onto the rock and dove out into the water to find Leone.

According to Tyler's mother, Marie Williams, he was a hero, "a hero to his family and to his wife."

The Coast Guard Rescue Team recovered Leone. Unresponsive, he was flown to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland where he later died.

Tyler's body is still missing.

"It's just an emptiness in a mother's heart, and it will be there for a long time," said Williams.

This past Sunday, friends and loved ones gathered at Simpson Beach.

They marked the site with a sign and wrote love messages in the sand. They put a note in a bottle and released some of their feelings for Tyler into the sea.

"And we just throw them out in the ocean and it was good, it was really good," Williams said.

Williams wants the incident to be a reminder for anyone going to the beach this winter.

Patrick Brown with the U.S. Coast Guard said the beach can be dangerous any time of the year, but it's in the Winter that swells can increase to as much as thirty feet.

"People go out on a nice sunny day and the swells can be bigger than what they expect and they could just be down there at the beach, not really paying attention and one could kind of sneak up on them," said Brown

Williams said she just wants people to be careful this time of year. But careful does not necessarily mean fearful.

According to Brown, it's just about using common sense.

"You've got to use your good judgment though. Definitely don't turn your back to the ocean," he said. "Pay attention to the weather, not just what the temperature is and how sunny it is, but what the waves and swells are doing."

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