Dakota Jones, 31, died after being pulled into rough Gulf waters off Panama City Beach.
PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL — A Kansas City father drowned May 7 after he was caught in rough Gulf waters during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, turning what relatives described as a first family beach trip into a sudden tragedy.
Dakota Jones, 31, died on the final day of the trip with his wife, Skylar Biggs Jones, their 14-month-old daughter, Brinnley, and family friends. City officials said the drowning happened just after 6 p.m. near Beach Access 51. A red flag warning was in place, and lifeguards had gone off duty about an hour earlier. The death was reported as Panama City Beach’s first drowning of 2026.
Jones and a family friend had gone into the water Thursday evening as the group prepared to end the vacation, his wife said. They were jumping waves and enjoying one last moment at the beach when the water changed quickly. “We were just going to dip our toes in one last time,” Skylar Biggs Jones said. She said the group had been smiling and laughing moments before the current pulled the men farther from shore.
Biggs Jones said her husband knew about the red flag warning, but the water had appeared manageable and had reached only about his waist. As the waves grew stronger, she realized he and the friend were in trouble and tried to get their attention. “It happened so, so fast,” she said. The friend was able to get back to shore. First responders pulled Jones from the water and tried to revive him before he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
City officials said Jones became separated from a boogie board he had been using. Another man went into the water to help, but he also needed to be rescued. That rescuer survived. Officials said red flags were posted at the beach that day, meaning dangerous surf conditions were present. Daryl Paul, the city’s beach safety director, said the city was deeply saddened by the death and called it a reminder that rip currents can be dangerous even for experienced swimmers.
The drowning happened in the Gulf of Mexico along a beach that draws large numbers of visitors each year. Panama City Beach uses a flag warning system to mark water conditions, with red flags showing dangerous surf and strong currents. City officials said the distress call came about an hour after lifeguards ended their shift for the day. No criminal charges have been reported, and the case has been treated as a water emergency.
Jones’ wife said the vacation had been long anticipated. She said it was the couple’s first family vacation with their daughter, and they had hoped it would be the first of many trips together. The couple met in 2019, married in 2024 and welcomed Brinnley last year. They shared a love of Kansas City Chiefs games, travel and video games, she said. Jones worked loading and unloading railroad cargo in Kansas City.
Biggs Jones described her husband as a positive, hardworking father whose focus shifted to his daughter the moment he came home. “It didn’t matter how hard of a day he had, the moment he walked through the door, he would immediately go to our daughter and say, ‘Hi, Brinn-Brinn,’” she said. “His eyes would light up, her eyes would light up.” Since his death, she said, Brinnley has waited near the door as if her father were about to return from work.
Relatives and friends have started raising money for the family through an online fundraiser. The campaign had drawn more than $12,000 by Wednesday, May 13, after earlier reaching nearly $11,000 Tuesday afternoon. Biggs Jones said she has struggled to explain the death to their young daughter and has told her only that her father is still on vacation.
As of Thursday, May 14, Jones’ family was back in Kansas City and mourning his death while city officials in Panama City Beach continued to point to the posted flag conditions and the timing of the emergency. No additional hearing or formal investigative step had been announced.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.