Three young fathers drowned last Friday while vacationing in Florida due to a deadly rip current.
Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24, were among a group of six who traveled from Birmingham, Alabama, to spend the weekend in an AirBnB near Panama City Beach, Florida.
The friends decided to go for a swim despite there being a rip current from the Gulf of Mexico. The current, which is strong and narrow flows of water less than 80 feet wide, has unexpected force and power.
Shortly after entering the water, the men were swept under. They were eventually recovered by emergency services and transported to the hospital where they were pronounced deceased.
In a statement on June 21, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “It is with profound sadness that we announce all three young men that entered the water around 8 PM today and became distressed have passed away.”
