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Father drowns at Grayton: second swimmer drowns at Miramar Beach
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March 22, 2007
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A father drown Thursday afternoon as his teenage son struggled to get to his father but almost lost his own life in the cold, choppy waters along Grayton Beach.
Around 1:30 p.m. South Walton Fire District received a call for a water rescue for a man who had fallen from his kayak in the Gulf of Mexico near the cabins at Grayton Beach State Park.
When the rescue team, including Beach Safety Director Gary Wise, EMS Division Chief Ryan Crawford and SWFD Medical Director Gary Pablo, arrived on the beach they could see Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies about one mile to the west near the edge of the state park.
Wise and Crawford grabbed a surf board and ran down the beach.
They found the victim’s teenage son on the beach. He had attempted to go out to help his dad, but the water is still cold, Hughes said, and the conditions proved too much for the teen.
Wise spotted a kayak on shore and went into the water on his rescue board.
When Wise got to the area where deputies’ had parked, deputies helped Wise spot the father's body in the water. He brought the victim in, reportedly a man in his mid-to-late 50s, and emergency personnel began CPR. After 20 – 25 minutes, Dr. Pablo pronounced the victim dead.
Two minor sons were transported to Sacred Heart, Hughes said. The mother, unaware of the incident, was out shopping.
Red flags were flying at the time of the incident. The man was not wearing a life jacket, said South Walton Fire District Deputy Chief Sean Hughes.
No sooner had rescue workers cleared the Grayton Beach scene when a call came in around 4 p.m. for a water rescue of four people in the water on Old 98 across the street from Bad Ass Coffee in Walton County.
According to unofficial sources, three people came out of the water unharmed but the fourth man, thought to have gone into the water to help the other three, was unaccounted for for several minutes.
When rescuers did find him he was unconscious. He was taken to the beach where CPR was started immediately and he was transported to Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast by vehicle, however the victim was later pronounced dead.
No details were available on either victim pending notification of kin.
Beach flags went to double red at 4:20 p.m., closing the water to all activity.