Silver Spring's Yannick Dbumeni-Ndaleu, of Silver Spring, went missing around 3 p.m., and his body washed up on shore around 12 hours later, KKTV reports citing the county coroner.
"Our brave and courageous brother/son without thinking went in and decided to help them," reads a GoFundMe page launched for Yannick's family.
"He managed to help the son get out and went back in to also assist the father. Unfortunately, after helping the father get out, he couldn’t manage to save himself and got caught up in the current."
The campaign had raised more than $15,000 as of Thursday, June 15 and was intended to help bring Yannick's body back to Cameroon, his native country.
The page remembered Yannick as the "life of the party" with a pure heart.
"He was always willing to help anyone that he could," it reads. "He had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, and each day he would get up and work towards making his dreams come true."
Yannick is survived by his twin sister, family and friends.
Monday was reportedly a "double red flag" day at the beach, meaning that swimming was considered dangerous, even for he most experienced.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Gaithersburg and receive free news updates.