HUTCHINSON ISLAND, FL – A family vacation to Florida ended in tragedy when a Pennsylvania couple drowned while swimming with their children off Hutchinson Island, authorities said.
Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48, were vacationing with their six children when they were caught in a powerful rip current Thursday afternoon, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. The couple, along with two of their teenage children, were pulled into the treacherous waters.
The teenagers managed to escape the current and attempted to rescue their parents, but the conditions were too perilous. The teens were forced to swim back to shore, leaving their parents behind.
Martin County Ocean Rescue later found Warter and Wishard unresponsive in the water. Despite efforts to revive them with CPR, the couple was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
A crisis intervention deputy was dispatched to support the grieving children, who are mostly teenagers, as they awaited the arrival of other family members from Pennsylvania.
Authorities are urging beachgoers to be cautious of rip currents, which can be deadly even for experienced swimmers. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers that can lurk beneath seemingly calm waters.