A 14-year-old boy has died after beach officials said he drowned in the ocean at Daytona Beach on Thursday night.
Deputy Chief Tamra Malphurs said that on July 7th, the boy from Altamonte Springs was swimming with three friends near the Hard Rock Hotel around 7:30 p.m.
“The three other teens he was swimming with started making their way to shore when they could no longer see him,” officials said.
Search efforts were conducted by Beach Safety and the Coast Guard using swimmers, rescue skis, and drones.
The boy was later found less than a mile north on the beach from where he went missing at about 9:30 p.m. by people walking.
Lifesaving measures were performed and he was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
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Malphurs reminded swimmers during a news conference on Friday to always try and swim in front of a staffed lifeguard tower and if there isn’t one, it’s best to avoid going in the water.
She also warns that if you find yourself in a rip current, don’t panic, yell for help, and try to swim parallel to the shore. She said the rip current will not pull you under but rather pull you further out into the ocean.
Officials say that hazardous rip currents have been an issue at beaches over the past few months and they have rescued over 1,600 people to rip currents since the beginning of the year.
Over the last couple of weeks, over 500 people have been rescued in the water, Malphurs said.
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