Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24 died in the Florida riptide on Friday. The young Alabama men had traveled to the Panama City Beach area Friday evening with a group of friends and had just checked into their rental home and gone for a swim when they went into distress , the Bay County Sheriff's Office said in a updated Facebook post on Saturday evening.
"The three men were caught in a rip currently shortly after entering the water," the post said.
The sheriff's office had received the initial emergency call about the distressed swimmers shortly after 8pm, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard and others began rescue efforts. The men were found separately and later pronounced dead at area hospitals, authorities said.
Earlier this week, single red flags had been posted at the beach, indicating high-hazard surf and rip current conditions. On Thursday, a Pennsylvania couple visiting Florida with their six children drowned after they were caught in a rip current while swimming.
Brian Warter, 51, and 48-year-old Erica Wishard, and two of their mostly teenage children were caught in the current on Hutchinson Island, along Florida 's southeast coast, the Martin County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. It added that the two children were able to break free of the current and tried to help their parents but were forced to swim ashore when conditions became too dangerous.
Martin County Ocean Rescue attempted life-saving measures and took the couple to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead, according to the sheriff's office.
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“The kids were able to break the current and attempted to help their parents, but it became too dangerous and they were forced to swim ashore,” Martin County Sheriff’s Office said. “Martin County Ocean Rescue located the victims and began CPR on shore. Those life-saving efforts continued in the ambulance and at the hospital where doctors gave it every last effort before declaring the couple deceased.”
The Martin County Sheriff's Crisis Intervention Team Deputy helped the couple's children during the day and night while they awaited the arrival of further family members in Florida , according to the police report.
A fast-moving water column that moves away from the coast and toward open water is known as a riptide current. According to officials, swimmers who are trapped in one should swim calmly parallel to the coast to get out of the current. Red flags, which suggest potentially dangerous surf conditions, were visible at the beach on Thursday, according to Fire Rescue personnel.
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