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BAY CITY – An evening of fishing on the Matagorda beaches turned into a life or death struggle for one Bay City man after he was caught in a swiftly moving rip current.

Les Handley, 45, and his 11-year-old nephew, Dakota Goodman, started fishing about 6 p.m. on July 21, with the intention of hitting several different spots along the beach before returning home.

What the two didn’t realize was that with Hurricane Dolly just one day from hitting the South Texas coastline, the currents along the beach were much stronger than usual.

Before the fishing began, Handley decided to cool off by going for a swim.

However, after wading out into chest-deep water, he soon found himself swept off his feet and unable to regain his balance, as a rip current roared underneath him.

“Every time I tried to reach ground, the current lifted my feet off and turned me around,” Handley said.

Dakota, who will enter the sixth grade in August, said he saw his uncle was in trouble and bravely swam to his side.

Dakota helped Handley remain calm and keep his head above water as the two slowly made their way back to shore.

Dakota said he was doing whatever he could to help his uncle get back to shore safely, but it wasn’t easy.

“His shirt went up over his head and he kept trying to raise his head, but he couldn’t,” Dakota said.

By the time Dakota reached his uncle, Handley was extremely exhausted.

“When we got close enough to the shore, I tried to crawl in on my hands and knees, but I couldn’t do anything because I had no energy left. I thought I was going to pass out,” Handley said.

Once they reached land, Dakota got a chair for Handley to lean on while he caught his breath.

A family member checked him out and then he made a trip to the emergency room, but he has since made a full recovery.

“I knew that I could have died,” he added. “It was so close … the stuff Dakota did to help me was the difference. He was smart and kept his head,” he said.