Oklahoma teen caught in rip current drowns on Florida beach

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – A young Oklahoma man vacationing in the Panhandle drowned in the Gulf of Mexico in Panama City Beach.

According to the Panama City Beach Fire Department, it happened Thursday afternoon on the beach behind Sharky’s Beachfront restaurant when the 19-year-old victim was caught in a rip current.

Beach lifeguards were able to pull the man out of the water and back to shore.

First responders initiated CPR on scene before transporting the victim to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay in critical condition.

The young man was pronounced dead at the hospital. Unique red flags were flying at that time.