Parents of 6 Children Caught in Current and Die While Vacationing in Florida, MPs Say | My status line

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A day at the beach turned into tragedy for a Pennsylvania family vacationing in Florida.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Brian Warter, 51, Erica Wishard, 48, and their six children started their vacation with a day at Stuart Beach on Thursday.

While in the water, the couple and two of their teenage children were swept away by a rip current. Deputies said the children were able to break the power and tried to help their parents. However, conditions became too dangerous and they were forced to swim to shore.

Martin County Marine Rescue Teams found the couple and began CPR on land. The couple was taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

“One of the deceased’s children was trying to yell instructions to them on how to swim parallel to the shore, … but they were in panic mode and unfortunately sank,” the chief deputy of the County Sheriff’s Office told WPTV. Martin, John Budensiek. “A lot of people are locals, they understand the tides. They know what to do, what not to do. They know where to go in the ocean and where not to go. We have vacationers come and, unfortunately, it ends badly for them. There is no way to get the message across to everyone.

The sheriff’s office said a deputy from the Martin County Sheriff’s Crisis Response Team helped the couple’s children throughout the day and evening as they waited for the arrival of other family members in Florida.

No further details were immediately available.