OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (WNCN) — Two people have died in swimming-related incidents at the North Carolina coast since Sunday after this month started with more than 190 rip current rescues.

One death happened Sunday afternoon and was due to rip currents at Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswick County, according to the National Weather Service.

A teenage girl who died at Ocean Isle was caught in a rip current between 12:30 and 1 p.m., the weather service and WECT-TV reported.

The girl was a student at Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, the Morganton News-Herald reported. A school official said she was at the beach as part of a school robotics team trip.

The mayor of Ocean Isle Beach told WECT that three teens were caught in the rip current, but two were rescued. The girl’s name was not released Monday.

As recently as last Tuesday, there were 14 rip current rescues at various beaches in adjacent New Hanover County, the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported.

“I am heartbroken by this tragic news,” Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus told WGHP. “I want the family, and our Reynolds students and staff to know that our district will provide any support they need at this incredibly difficult time. Our prayers are with all of you, and we mourn this loss with you.”

The most recent ocean death on the North Carolina coast happened late Monday morning at Surf City in Pender County, according to the Surf City Fire Department. Just last week there were at least four rip current rescues at that beach, the National Weather Service said.

The Surf City call was just after 11:25 p.m. in the ocean near Beach Access No. 3 on N. Shore Drive.

Ocean Rescue crews found people on the beach trying to help a person in the water. The people were already involved in CPR with the victim and rescue workers continued those efforts, Surf City Fire officials said.

The victim, 57-year-old Minh Ha Nguyen of Richmond, Virginia, was later pronounced dead.

Over the four days of July 3 to July 6, there were nearly 200 people rescued from rip currents at the North Carolina coast.

According to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, in New Hanover County alone, there were over 190 rip current rescues over those days including the Independence Day holiday.

The first North Carolina rip current death happened earlier this month on July 4 at the Outer Banks, according to the National Weather Service. An 18-year-old man died in that incident at Nags Head and is one of 23 people who have died from rip currents in the United States this year, the weather service reported.

WNCT-TV contributed to this report

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top budget writer and Republican leader in the North Carolina House said Monday that he will resign his legislative seat next month, further thinning out the GOP governance team next year when combined with the upcoming departure of Speaker Tim Moore.

Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County confirmed that he will step down from his 97th House District seat effective Aug. 12. He said he planned to file his formal resignation letter later Monday.

Saine, who joined the House in 2011, rose through the chamber’s ranks as the GOP tightened its electoral grip on the General Assembly. He became a chairman of the House Finance Committee, which considers tax policy, in 2015. Four years later he become a senior co-chair of the House Appropriations Committee, becoming heavily involved in budget negotiations with the Senate and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

In recent years, he’s also been the House’s chief advocate for authorizing state-regulated sports gambling, which began in March after a law was enacted in 2023. A Saine news release also lists several awards for his legislative activity, including an early-career award for his efforts to regulate commercial dog breeders. And he was the 2018 national chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is known for providing model legislation to conservative legislators on a variety of topics.

Saine, 50, said he’s “stepping away from public life to embrace new professional opportunities” that will allow him to keep advocating for issues he is passionate about. Saine, whose nonlegislative job has included public relations and marketing, said in a text that he was considering a marketing position with a mental health company. Saine said he also wanted to spend more time with his family, which includes a teenage son.

Saine’s resignation comes as Moore, who is serving a record fifth two-year term as speaker, runs for Congress this fall and won’t return to Raleigh. Saine was considered a potential successor as speaker, but he and Majority Leader John Bell last year got behind Rules Chairman Destin Hall for the post in 2025.

Saine was running unopposed this November for reelection to the 97th District, which comprises all of Lincoln County and whose voters lean heavily Republican. Lincoln County Republicans will have to choose someone to serve out the remainder of Saine’s two-year term through December, as well as someone to replace him as the GOP candidate in the district this fall.

News of Saine’s departure comes two weeks after GOP Sen. Jim Perry of Lenoir County announced his resignation. He also was a strong supporter of sports gambling legislation.