An off-duty Chatham County deputy sprang into action over the Easter weekend to help save two children from strong currents at Ocean Isle Beach.

Deputy Herbie Stubbs said he and his family noticed a man and two children in the water clinging to the pier.

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"We all immediately jumped in the water, not thinking about anything else, but trying to get these people out," said Stubbs.

The off-duty deputy, along with his son, Chandler Stubbs, and his daughter's boyfriend, Markus Coats, helped pull two young boys out of the water.

"I got one of the the children, and I grabbed him and I pulled him to me, and then I pulled him back to my son, Chandler ... and we got him out," said Stubbs. 

They had a harder time rescuing the second boy.

"This young man was, he was so tired. He'd been fighting and holding on to the pile of the pier. And finally, good Lord willing, I was able to get enough strength and wave or two push me up just a little bit," said Stubbs. "My son and myself, we eventually swam out, and then we were able to walk out with the young man, but he was so tired and limp. We had to basically drag him off and get him on the beach."

The off-duty deputy said his daughter, Brianna Stubbs, who is a registered nurse, was able to check on the boys when they were pulled out of the water. He said the kids' uncle also got out of the water safely.

Stubbs, his son and his daughter's boyfriend all had cuts and abrasions from the pier, and so did the boys. They were checked out by paramedics on the beach and returned to their family.

"I wouldn't have done it myself. There's no doubt with the way the current and everything was going. There's no way, I mean, I could have ended up in a bad situation," said Stubbs. 

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Stubbs is a school resource officer, and has been with the Chatham County Sheriff's Office for 19 years. He currently works at Seaforth High School.

Sheriff Mike Roberson said the calm, service-driven mindset Stubbs displayed on the beach also defines his work in schools.