In a span of four days, five tourists lost their lives in the waters of Panama City Beach, Florida, due to dangerous rip currents. The most recent victim was a 60-year-old woman from Missouri, who was vacationing in the Sunshine State. This incident followed the tragic deaths of three men on Friday and a teenager on Thursday, all in the same Gulf waters.
Debbie Szymanski of St. Louis was spending time with her family near the Carillon neighborhood beach when she went for a swim around 11:30 a.m. When she failed to respond, her family members pulled her to shore while emergency services rushed to the scene. Despite being transported to a local hospital, Szymanski was pronounced dead.
Two days prior, three friends from Birmingham, Alabama, also fell victim to the deadly rip currents. Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24, had just arrived at their Airbnb rental near the Watercress Condominiums on the beach. They decided to take a quick swim, but within minutes, all three were caught in a rip current. Despite the efforts of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Services, Coast Guard, and Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, all three men were found and pulled from the water, but later died at local hospitals.
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford commended the courage of the first responders, who braved the dark and dangerous waters for over two hours in an attempt to rescue the men. However, he also expressed concern about the emotional toll such incidents take on the first responders.
The first victim of this series of tragedies was 19-year-old Ryker Milton from Muskogee, Oklahoma. Milton was caught in a rip current while swimming with a friend on Thursday evening. Lifeguards managed to pull him from the water and began life-saving measures on the beach. However, he was pronounced dead in the emergency room of a local hospital.
The local authorities have repeatedly warned the public to stay out of the waters if red flags are posted. These flags indicate dangerous conditions, with double red flags signaling extremely hazardous conditions and the closure of the water to swimmers. Despite these warnings, all five victims were swimming when either single or double red flags were posted.