On the same day a Pennsylvania couple drowned in a rip current off Florida's Hutchinson Island, a 19-year-old from Oklahoma drowned in a rip current off Panama City Beach. It was the first of what would become five deaths at the beach town in four days, Fox News reports. On Friday, a day after Ryker Milton of Muskogee was pronounced dead at a hospital, three young men from Alabama arrived in Panama City Beach, checked into their vacation rental just before 8pm, then headed for the waves. Birmingham residents Harold Denzel Hunter, 25; Jemonda Ray, 24; and Marius Richardson, 24, "were caught in a rip current shortly after entering the water," the Bay County Sheriff's Office later said.
First responders "went into the dark and dangerous waters for over two hours to attempt to rescue and search for the young men," who were ultimately pronounced dead, Sheriff Tommy Ford wrote Saturday in a Facebook post. "I worry about the emotional toll that these situations take on first responders as I know I'm struggling with it as well," the sheriff added. All three men were fathers, per Fox. On Sunday, 60-year-old Debbie Szymanski of St. Louis became the fifth tourist to die at the beach in four days. Family members found her unresponsive on the west end of Panama City Beach around 11:30am and brought her to shore, just as emergency services were arriving, per Fox.
Szymanski, pronounced dead at a hospital, had also been a victim of a rip current, per the New York Post. The outlet notes all five victims were swimming at the beach when single or double red flags were posted. Single flags indicate "high hazard conditions with high surf and/or currents," while double flags indicate no swimmers should be in the water due to "extremely dangerous conditions," per the Post. (More Florida stories.)
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