Child survives after man drowned trying to save him from Bonita Beach rip current

According to a report, a child is OK after a man drowned while trying to save him near Bonita Dog Beach.

The victim, the child and a dog were struggling in a rip current Tuesday. A witness was able to save the kid, but the man was too far from the beach.

“Our crews were called for a possible drowning between Lovers Key and Dog Beach,” said Bonita Springs Fire Assistant Chief Jason Brod.

Bonita Springs Fire was one of the many first responders who arrived on scene moments after the U.S. Coast guard received a call from a woman saying a man went into the water to help a child in distress.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said both people and a dog were trapped in a rip current. One person saved the child. But the man lay face down in the water for five minutes before a nearby paddleboarder realized what was happening and got him to shore at Lover’s Key.

The paddleboarder tried to give him CPR but couldn’t save him.

“After the hurricane, the landscape has changed so much. We don’t know what the water, what the ground is like underneath. Some of it’s soft, some of it’s hard. You get stuck, it’s crazy,” Henry Hoerrmann said, a regular at the Bonita Dog Beach.

WINK News asked NOAA expert Brian Lamarre what people should do when they find themselves in a rip current, “You don’t want to try to outswim that rip current. We tell people to try and remain calm, it’s very difficult to do. You want to float out a little bit. Then you want to swim parallel to the beach because the rip current is going to be a certain width.”

When faced with rip currents, it’s important to stay calm and remember to float.

“What’s also dangerous about that area is it’s like a little inlet area, so you’ve got high tide coming in, high tide going out, and that’s what you need for rip current is that back-and-forth water push,” explained Lindsay Pursglove, a Swimtastic Swim Instructor.

The lead agency of this investigation, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, has not released the man’s name and age who died. There is also no word on the dog’s status.

“If you stay on top of the water, people can follow you. Do not go out and try to rescue them because now you’ve put yourself in danger, and we see this time and time again,” Pursglove said.