ICYMI: Remarkable Human Chain Rescues Man in York, Maine

Lois Griswold from Ohio snapped an incredible image of Mainers helping a man in distress.

In the summer of 2020, when the world was shut down for our first global pandemic and life changed forever, the most incredible thing happened on Short Sands Beach in York. It was a perfect reminder of the good that people have and give freely.

Lois is a 77-year-old sweet woman who has been coming to York during the summer for years. She noticed a commotion when she walked on Short Sands Beach in York. As reported by Bill Nemitz of the Portland Press Herald, she took out her iPhone and snapped several pictures.

She noticed someone in the water waving his hand and yelling.

The man was in scuba gear and having trouble. He is 57 and unidentified. A man dove into the water. Lois says that it was Ryan Coite who swam to his rescue, and that "he was fast, strong and courageous."

That's when a human chain started to form. Strangers came together and did the unthinkable during the pandemic: holding hands. To save a man, the social distancing went out the window.

And that led to the iconic picture of Mainers forgetting about a global pandemic to help a man who truly needed it.

The diver is fine. Just a couple of scratches. Lois is back in Ohio. She hopes to make it out next July for her annual visit. If this virus has you thinking that humanity is gone, well, it's alive and well.