(CNN) When she went into the ocean and struggled to swim, a man saved his 8-year-old daughter and passed her to his wife. Moments later, he disappeared under the waves.

Thomas Zakrewski, 46, was visiting southwest Florida from Georgia with his wife and daughter.

The three were walking along a sandbar at Captiva Island near Fort Myers on Tuesday, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

His wife walked ahead of them but glanced back and saw Zakrewski and his daughter struggling in the Gulf of Mexico, police said.

The woman immediately jumped in, and her husband passed her the girl.

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