Six Kids From Pennsylvania Were on Vacation in Florida When They Got Stuck in a Rip Current and Drowned
Authorities say a couple from Pennsylvania and their six children killed when they got caught in a rip current while swimming.
Fire rescue and the sheriff’s office in Martin County say the parents and two of their teenage children were swept out of Stuart Beach on Hutchinson Island Thursday afternoon.
The kids were able to fight the current and try to help their parents, but it got too dangerous, so they had to swim to safety, according to a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Martin County Ocean Rescue found the parents, who were named as Brian Warter (51), and Erica Wishard (48), and started saving lives.
The couple died despite the efforts of their family, Martin County Ocean Rescue, firemen, and doctors at Cleveland Clinic North.
A chief deputy from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office told NBC station WPTV in West Palm Beach that one of the kids tried to yell at Warter and Wishard to tell them they needed to swim parallel to the shore.
However, the parents “were in panic mode and unfortunately went under,” Budensiek said.
Folks who are swimming are told not to go against the flow and to wait to swim to land until they are out of the flow. If someone can’t get away, they should float or tread water and call for help by waving or yelling.
Budensiek told the news station, “A lot of people are from the area, so they know about rip tides.” “They understand what to do and what not to do.” They know the right and wrong places to go in the ocean. Visitors from other countries come to visit, but things go badly for them. It’s not possible to reach all of them.
The sheriff’s office said on Facebook Thursday morning that Stuart Beach had a red flag warning that meant there was a high risk. The service said that rip currents were likely to happen.
The beach wasn’t safe for swimming after the person drowned, according to Martin County Fire Rescue. The lights were double red.
The sheriff’s office said they helped the six kids, most of whom are teens, all day until other family members could get to Florida.
Source: NBC