Tybee Island advocate for drowning prevention along Tybee’s coast

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) – A 15-year Tybee Island resident is pushing for change on Tybee’s coast, and she is planning on going before City Council to share her ideas.

Sandy Stoeffler said one drowning death is way too many and she has witnessed more than she could count due to the dangerous waters off Tybee’s coast. That is why she started a Facebook group called, ‘Tybee Sandbar and Water Safety Initiative.’

“You know, you get some people that say, ‘well they shouldn’t go in the water if you can’t swim,’” Stoeffler said. “There is a ton of people that are good swimmers that have died out here.”

The death of 16-year-old Laquavis McCray over the July 4 holiday was the last straw for Stoeffler, and she has decided to take action straight to the steps of city hall. She wants city leaders to do more to educate beach goers, in a more obvious way, before they ever hit the sand.

“The rip current one is buried in between the other ones,” Stoeffler said. “I appreciate they have that, but I think there needs to be something separate that actually draws your attention to it. Like that rip current- how to survive a rip current sign.”

She wants what she calls a ‘tide clock’ to notify people of the changes between high tide and low tide. To go along with that, she has asked for a memorial to remember the lives lost on Tybee Island beach.

To ensure the safety ideas continue to roll in from the public, she is pushing for a volunteer task force. With over 900 hundred people a part of her Facebook group, she said she will have no problem getting people on board.

“Everybody cares that people are drowning,” Stoeffler explained. “It is just…how do we handle it and how do we tackle it.”

Stoeffler is planning to present her findings and ideas to city council August 21.