A Florida sheriff blasted beach-goers for disregarding the warnings about dangerous water conditions just days before former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett’s drowning.
Mallett was vacationing at a Destin, Fla. beach when the tragedy occurred. According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, first responders were called to Panama City Beach on Tuesday around 2:12 p.m. while a group of people swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near a sandbar struggled to make their way back to shore.
One of the individuals, later identified as Mallett, was not breathing when he was pulled to shore, and he was pronounced dead at local hospital a short time later.
“I’m beyond frustrated at the situation that we have with tragic and unnecessary deaths in the Gulf,” Bay County Sheriff Tom Ford wrote on Facebook. “I have watched while deputies, firefighters, and lifeguards have risked their lives to save strangers. I have seen strangers die trying to save their children and loved ones, including two fathers on Father’s Day.”
The social media missive, penned on Sunday, came less than 24 hours after four people drowned while swimming in the Gulf just off the same beach. They were identified as Kimberly Ann Mckelvy Moore, 39, of Lithonia, Ga., Morytt James Burden, 63, of Lithia Springs, Ga., and Donald Wixon, 68, from Canton, Mich,, WMBB reported.
In the last 10 days, the Panama City Beach Police Department responded to 70 swimmers in distress. Thirty-nine of those occurred on Saturday.
Ford further warned that those who ignore the water warnings are not only risking their own lives, but those of first responders and those who are willing to try to save them.
“These same heroes, who have risked it all to save others, have been cursed and given the finger, while trying to warn visitors of the life-threatening dangers,” he wrote. “We have used the tools provided by the county commission to fine violators $500 for entering the water on double red flags.”
In a separate post Tuesday, the same day as Mallet’s drowning, Ford urged caution to those heading out to the beach.
“Today is a bit rough, so be especially careful,” the sheriff wrote. “We’ll be out on the sand, doing our best to keep you safe, visitors and residents alike.”
