WCSO: Two Deaths in Three Days Following Drowning Incidents on South Walton Beaches

[Teresa]

Walton County Sheriff's Office
Sunday June 25 2023

TWO DEATHS IN THREE DAYS FOLLOWING DROWNING INCIDENTS ON WALTON COUNTY BEACHES

Two people have died following drowning incidents along Walton County Beaches in less than three days despite the courageous efforts of first responders all week long during rough surf conditions.

Thursday afternoon, South Walton Fire District transported a man in critical condition following a water rescue in Blue Mountain Beach.

Beach patrons notified SWFD’s Tower 31 lifeguard that bystanders had pulled the male, who was unresponsive, from the water nearly half a mile to the west of the tower.

The lifeguard quickly responded to the area and began life-saving measures. Additional beach safety units arrived along with Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies to assist.

Unfortunately, the 65-year-old from Coppell, Texas later died.

On Saturday afternoon, Walton County Sheriff’s Office and South Walton Fire District Beach Safety Units were called to Scenic Gulf Drive after a 9-1-1 caller reported multiple people struggling in the water.

SWFD Beach Safety personnel and WCSO deputies arrived on the scene and immediately entered the water, rescuing two men and a teenager and providing life-saving measures. All three were transported by SWFD to a local hospital.

One of the men, a 58-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Both incidents occurred when single red flags were flying. However, surf conditions prompted double red flags for several days on Walton County Beaches during which both South Walton Fire District and Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded to numerous water rescues and drowning incidents.

Our agencies continue to educate those visiting our beaches on the dangers of the Gulf and its unforgiving nature. We encourage those who plan to take a trip to the beach to swim near a lifeguard and know how to break the grip of a rip current. If you cannot swim, stay out of the water.

The choice to enter the water under any circumstance that risks the lives of you or your loved ones also puts the lives of our first responders in jeopardy. Know the flag system and respect it.

Walton County Sheriff's Office would like to thank our partners at South Walton Fire District for their efforts and dedication to the residents and visitors of our county.

 

[Teresa]

SWFD Press Release
Saturday June 24 2023

#SWFDNews | SWFD TRANSPORTS TWO IN CRITICAL CONDITION FOLLOWING WATER RESCUE

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. --- South Walton Fire District (SWFD) Advanced Life Support (ALS) transported two people to the hospital in critical condition and one in stable condition Saturday afternoon following a multi-victim water rescue in Miramar Beach.

The incident originated at 12:52 p.m. when a 911 caller reported to SWFD Dispatchers that multiple people were struggling in the water near 1115 Scenic Gulf Drive, approximately 0.3 miles from the nearest lifeguard tower.

SWFD Beach Safety units arrived on-scene with Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida deputies at 12:54 p.m. to confirm multiple people in a rip current requiring immediate rescuing. According to bystanders on shore, a teenage male had been struggling in the water and members of his family had entered the water to attempt to rescue him.

Lifeguards and deputies then entered the water and found two adult men were unresponsive and required resuscitation. The teenage male was in stable condition but required further medical attention. Deputies and lifeguards then worked to bring all patients to shore and began rendering lifesaving care to the two unresponsive patients.

SWFD ALS then arrived on-scene at 12:55 p.m. and initiated ALS interventions for each patient before transporting the individuals to the hospital.

Lifesaving measures were in progress upon arrival at the hospital for both adult males. SWFD ALS crews reported a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in one of the two patients, which indicates the patient had regained a pulse. The third patient was in stable condition upon arrival at the hospital.

SWFD is unable to provide a further update on the patients at the time of this release.

When the incident occurred, single red flags were flying, which indicate high surf hazards and dangerous rip currents are present.

Due to the number of rescues and potential for further life-threatening injuries, beach flags were changed to double red Saturday afternoon. Double red flags signify the water is closed to swimmers and boogie boarders.

Lifeguards demand all beach patrons heed the flag warning system and stay on the dry sand until conditions improve. When the water is open, all beach patrons are encouraged to swim near a lifeguard. For daily beach flag updates, text SAFETY to 31279.

SWFD would like to thank all responding WCSO deputies for their assistance during this call.

 

[bob bob]

Three people were left dead Saturday after reportedly drowning in the Gulf of Mexico in three separate incidents, according to Panama City Beach officials.

Officials stated over the last 10 days, the Panama City Beach Police Department responded to 70 swimmers in distress, and 39 of those calls were on Saturday, June 24.

 

[Matt J]

I've never paid so much for a vacation I was willing to die on it.

 

[Teresa]

SURF CONDITIONS
SUNDAY JUNE 25
SWFD

SINGLE RED FLAGS! 6/25/23

SWFD lifeguards are changing beach flags to single red Sunday, June 25, due to high surf hazards and dangerous rip currents.

Single red flag hazards mean you should STAY CLOSE TO SHORE! If you are not a strong swimmer, you should not be getting into the water under any circumstance. Those who are strong swimmers should remember #KneeDeepIsTooDeep.

Please! Help us help you! Prevent further serious drowning incidents by taking personal accountability for your own safety. Respect the Gulf! The best way to prevent a drowning is to SWIM NEAR A LIFEGUARD! See the comment section of this post for a graphic of lifeguard tower locations.

 

[Teresa]

WCSO MINI-DOCUMENTARY ON RIP CURRENT DANGER
July 2017
Daughter of father who drowned is featured, shares her story

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office is undertaking a signature project focused on water safety during the coming months, starting with a mini-documentary featuring the daughter of a man who died in a rip current.
Ken Brindley of Arkansas was an athletic, beloved 36-year-old married father of two when he jumped in the waters off Grayton Beach to join several others in an attempt to save another father and his son stuck in rip current, yelling for help.

His daughter, Madeline Brindley, now a senior at the University of Central Arkansas, is featured in the film. She was 6 years old in 2003 when her father was rescued. He was transported to the hospital, and on life-support for two days. The man he was trying to save drowned.

Walton County established lifeguard stations along the beaches in 2006.

Madeline Brindley has become widely recognized as a champion of water safety of all types—and wrote a children’s book to help spur families to talk about the issue.

“The video is powerful, moving, and very valuable,” Sheriff Adkinson said. “Every family that resides here or visits Walton County’s beautiful beaches needs to sit down and watch it together, and then talk in-depth about it.”

Sheriff Adkinson said he’s becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of those called in to do water rescues.

“We have our law enforcement and public safety officials risking their lives more and more due to these rescue calls—and so many are preventable because people are ignoring the flag system that I honestly have become very frustrated,” said Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr. “Therefore, we are initiating serious attention during the coming months to tackle what is a serious issue—and in order to protect the men and women serving in uniform as well. I would like for both local residents and visitors to help us in a full-court press on this initiative.”

The film was produced by WCSO Special Policy Projects Manager Kelly Layman, in cooperation with Sky Pro Imaging.

“This is an incredible young woman, and a courageous family,” Layman said. “As a community, we are indebted to them for sharing their story in an effort to prevent future tragedies. Most of all, Madeline is proof positive of the sheer impact one young person can make.”

As a high school student and as part of her pageantry platform for Miss Teen Arkansas, Madeline received tremendous community attention for her personal testimony in front of many groups, plus thousands of hours devoted to water safety community events across the Midwest. She also worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers in Arkansas on lake and boating safety campaigns.

The film was made utilizing the Sheriff’s portion of County tourist development bed tax. July 2017.

Watch. Share.

 

[Teresa]

Bay County Sheriff's office

THE AFTERMATH OF A DEADLY WEEKEND

You say you are a "good" swimmer, an experienced swimmer, a competitive swimmer. But you are no match for a rip current. These are pictures of the trenches dredged in the sand under the water as a result of the powerful rip currents this past weekend. These are so deep they are easily seen from above. There are quite a few of them. The pictures were taken yesterday from one of our helicopters.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

We hope so.

 

[raven316]

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett died Tuesday in an apparent drowning off a Florida beach, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

First responders were called to a beach in Destin around 2:12 p.m. due to reports that a group of people in the water were struggling to make it to shore, the news release said.

 

[Jimmy T]

Very sad. It's been a rough month.

 

[raven316]

"Yellow flags indicating “a medium hazard, moderate surf and/or currents” were flying along Destin beaches, though “there were no rip currents present in the area in which we responded to Ryan Mallett,” the Destin Fire Control District said in a statement.

Mallett’s death “seems to be just a tragic accident and not something to do with the conditions of the surf or tides or currents,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said."