US dad swept away by powerful riptide while swimming near shore of Thai beach with wife and son

A frantic hunt has been launched for a missing father after he was tragically swept away by a riptide at a beach in Thailand , while his wife and young child managed to reach safety.

James Everett Du Bois, an American, was enjoying the waters with his Thai wife, Siriarmorn Phetarwut, and their three-year-old son Boonpat, at Nai Harn Beach in Phuket on the afternoon of June 9. Suddenly, a strong current pulled the family away from the safety of the shore into turbulent seas.

While the Thai woman fought her way back to land and the toddler was saved by vigilant lifeguards, James was carried off by the relentless waves. Search teams, including divers, worked tirelessly until around 8.30pm when fading light and rough conditions forced them to pause the search.

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Efforts resumed this morning as boats and drones were used to search nearby beaches and islands for any signs of James. Rawai Mayor Arun Soros reported: "At 4.45 pm, the family was swimming around 10 meters from the shore, but they were pulled by the current into the sea.

"The wife and boy are now safe, but the American man is still missing. We are continuing to search for the man but we believe he has drowned." Riptides, more accurately known as rip currents, are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that can carry swimmers from the shallows far out to sea.

They often form near breaks in sandbars or close to man-made structures like piers and can be extremely dangerous, even fatal, for unsuspecting swimmers. Thailand's idyllic beaches turn perilous from June to December when the monsoon season whips up fierce winds and rough seas.

James, from Shelby, Ohio, is a veteran who served as a Supply Specialist in the US Army from 1996 to 2022. He also went to Belize as a missionary in 2018.

According to his social media, James and his family live in Rawai, which is near the beach they were swimming at when he was swept away. The dad regularly gushes about his family on Facebook. In one post he writes: "My son is my joy, my pride, my motivation, my best friend, my life!"

He captioned another photo of his son: "I can't imagine a life without my son! He makes every day worth living". According to his Facebook, the 49-year-old also has a daughter called Kayla.