MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A day at the beach turned to tragedy for a Pennsylvania family vacationing in Florida.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said 51-year-old Brian Warter, 48-year-old Erica Wishard and their six children started their vacation with a day at Stuart Beach on Thursday.
While in the water, the couple and two of their teenage children got swept out by a rip current. Deputies said the kids were able to break the current, and they tried to help their parents. However, conditions became too dangerous and they were forced to swim ashore.
Martin County Ocean Rescue teams found the couple and began CPR on shore. The couple was taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
“One of the children of the deceased was trying to yell to them instructions of how to swim parallel to the shore, … but they were in panic mode and unfortunately went under,” Martin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Budensiek told WPTV. “A lot of people are locals, they understand rip tides. They know what to do, what not to do. They know where to get in the ocean and where not to. We get these vacationers that come in and, unfortunately, this ends poorly for them. There’s no way to get the message out to all of them.”
The sheriff’s office said a Martin County Sheriff’s Crisis Intervention Team deputy assisted the couple’s children throughout the day and evening as they awaited the arrival of other family members in Florida.
No other details were immediately available.