A Pennsylvania couple vacationing in Florida with their six children drowned after getting caught by a rip current while swimming, authorities said.
The family was at Stuart Beach on Hutchinson Island Thursday afternoon when the parents and two of their teenage children were swept out, according to Martin County's sheriff's office and fire rescue.
The teens were able to break the current and attempted to help their parents but it became dangerous and the teens had to swim to shore, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Martin County Ocean Rescue located the parents, identified as Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48, and began life-saving measures.
Despite efforts by family members, Martin County Ocean Rescue, paramedics, and doctors at Cleveland Clinic North, the couple died.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Budensiek told NBC affiliate WPTV of West Palm Beach that one of the children tried yelling to Warter and Wishard to instruct them that they needed to swim parallel to the shore.
The parents "were in panic mode and unfortunately went under," Budensiek said.
Swimmers are told not to swim against the current and to swim to shore only after getting out of the current. If a person is unable to escape, they are encouraged to float or tread water and yell or wave for assistance.
"A lot of people are locals, they understand rip tides," Budensiek told the news station. "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."
Thursday morning, the sheriff's office posted on Facebook that there was a red flag warning at Stuart Beach indicating a high hazard. The agency wrote that rip currents were expected.
Following the drowning, flags were double red and the beach was closed for swimming, the Martin County Fire Rescue said.
The sheriff's office said they assisted the six children, who are mostly teenagers, throughout the day until other family members could arrive in Florida.
