MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A Pennsylvania couple died after being swept into a rip current while vacationing with their six children in Florida Thursday afternoon.
Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48, were swimming with two of their teenage kids on Hutchinson Island before they were all caught in the current, the Martin County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.
After the two teens managed to break out of the current, they reportedly attempted to help their parents but were forced to swim ashore because it became too dangerous. Martin County Rescue crews were able to find Warter and Wishard before conducting CPR on shore, deputies said.
"The kids were able to break the current and attempted to help their parents, but it became too dangerous and they were forced to swim ashore," investigators said.
Life-saving efforts continued in the ambulance and at the hospital before the couple was pronounced dead, according to deputies.
The sheriff's office said a crisis intervention team assisted the couple's children throughout Thursday as they await the arrival of other family members in Florida.
A rip current is a fast-moving column of water that flows away from the shore toward open water. Officials say swimmers caught in one should remain calm and then swim parallel to the shore to escape the current.
Fire Rescue officials said there were red flags at the beach Thursday, indicating the possibility of hazardous surf conditions. The National Weather Service office in Melbourne warned on its website Friday of a “high risk” of rip currents all along the Atlantic coast, partly because of higher ocean swells caused by a low-pressure system near the Florida-Georgia state line, said meteorologist Megan Tollefsen.
“A lot of people are locals, they understand rip tides. They know what to do, what not to do,” Martin County Chief Deputy John Budensiek told WPTV. “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.”
Hutchinson Island is about 55 miles north of West Palm Beach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
