Rare tragedies: Second man drowns while swimming off coast of Hilton Head Island

In an extremely rare pair of events, a second man drowned offshore of a Hilton Head Island beach Friday. Prior to Friday, there had only been three drownings since 2017.

Leonard Schenz, 73, of Loveland, Ohio, was pulled out of the water and given CPR but was non responsive, according to Coroner David Ott. Schenz was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m by Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue who responded to the scene alongside the lifeguard patrols.

Schenz was swimming near Palmetto Dunes at beach marker 92A.

The first fatality

Around 10 a.m. Friday morning, another vacationer drowned on North Forest Beach at beach marker 62. 66-year-old Ralph Jamieson of South Euclid, Ohio, was also pronounced dead after being pulled from the water and given CPR.

Both drownings happened in areas where Shore Beach Services, the provider of the island’s lifeguard services, does not station permanent guards. These areas are instead patrolled with lifeguards in vehicles because they are less densely populated areas of the beach, operations manager Mike Wagner said.

Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a dangerous rip current warning through Friday evening for South Carolina and Georgia beaches. Rip currents aren’t likely to pull people underwater but can lead to drowning as exhausted swimmers try to return to shore. It is unknown what role the currents played in these fatalities, Wagner said Friday evening. He added that the lifeguards had seen some currents earlier in the day.

Autopsies for both Schenz and Jamieson are scheduled for Monday, Ott said.

This story has been updated to correct the victim’s age.