Swimmer vanishes trying to save kids from rip current, Florida cops say. Body now found
UPDATE: The body found in the water off the Florida coast later was confirmed to be missing swimmer Mykhailo Myroshnychenko, the Neptune Beach Police Department told McClatchy News in an email.
The original story is below.
A 19-year-old swimmer vanished while trying to save three people caught in a rip current off the Florida coast, officials said.
Now, a body found floating in the water matches his description, the Neptune Beach Police Department wrote June 7 on Facebook.
“An official identification has not yet been made, though the body matches the age, sex, race, clothing description” and other characteristics of missing swimmer Mykhailo Myroshnychenko, police said.
Myroshnychenko, a refugee from war-torn Ukraine, was known for his laughter, his brother Victor Myroshnychenko told WTLV. He disappeared about a week before what would be his 20th birthday.
Mykhailo Myroshnychenko was last seen going into the ocean at about 8 p.m. on June 6. He was trying to “assist an adult male and two children who were struggling in a rip current” off Neptune Beach, officers wrote.
Though all three people who Myroshnychenko tried to save got back to shore, he didn’t resurface. Several agencies searched for him “throughout the night” before a person’s body was found early June 7 in nearby Atlantic Beach, police said.
While officers didn’t share an official identification in the “tragic” case, they say Mykhailo’s family has been “notified and is in contact with the Duval County Medical Examiners Office.”
The Neptune Beach Police Department didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on June 8. The town is in the Jacksonville area, where officials said another missing 19-year-old swimmer recently was found dead.
What is a rip current?
Rip currents are “powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water” that happen on the coasts of the U.S. and in the Great Lakes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About 100 people are killed by rip currents each year in the U.S., NOAA reported. Lifeguards rescue thousands of people from rip currents annually.
Experts say people can take steps to stay safe from rip currents, including:
Check the local water conditions before getting in.
Talk to a lifeguard at the beach about the conditions.
Only swim at beaches where lifeguards are present.
Don’t assume great weather means good swimming conditions.
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Swimmer vanishes trying to save kids from rip current, Florida cops say. Body now found."
