3 tourists rush to beach and drown minutes after checking into Airbnb, Florida cops say
Three Alabama men visiting the Florida Panhandle drowned after they rushed into the Gulf of Mexico and got caught in a rip current, according to investigators.
It happened Friday, June 21, at Panama City Beach and the three were part of the same group of tourists, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.
The men have been identified as Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24, all of Birmingham, officials said in a news release.
“The three arrived with their group of friends in Bay County (Friday) just before 8 p.m.,” the sheriff’s office said.
“They checked into their rental and rushed out to get into the water. The three men were caught in a rip current shortly after entering the water.”
The current dragged them away in the dark, resulting in a search that drew overwhelming community response, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a release.
“I witnessed so many people, including visitors to our community, come together last night on the beach to desperately search for them,” Ford said.
“The acts of courage by first responders were amazing. Many of our rescue swimmers with the Sheriffs Office, Bay County Emergency Services and Panama City Beach went into the dark and dangerous waters for over two hours to attempt to rescue and search for the young men.”
One of the men was found unresponsive while the other two were taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, officials said.
Ray and Richardson were cousins and Hunter was a family friend, AL.com reported. They were part of a group of six staying at the same Airbnb, including “Ray’s girlfriend, Richardson’s wife, and one of Hunter’s cousins,” the news outlet reported.
“The men were in chest-deep water when they became distressed,” the newspaper reported.
Rip currents are hidden channels of currents that can move “at speeds of up to eight feet per second,” rapidly dragging swimmers away from beaches, NOAA National Ocean Service reports.
“Panicked swimmers often try to counter a rip current by swimming straight back to shore — putting themselves at risk of drowning because of fatigue,” NOAA says. “Lifeguards rescue tens of thousands of people from rip currents in the U.S. every year, but it is estimated that 100 people are killed by rip currents annually.”
Another “distressed swimmer” was rescued off Bay County Sunday, June 23, the sheriff’s office reported. The condition of the swimmer has not been released.
Panama City Beach is about a 95-mile drive east of Pensacola.
This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 7:57 AM with the headline "3 tourists rush to beach and drown minutes after checking into Airbnb, Florida cops say."