In recent weeks, two people have lost their lives drowning in the Atlantic Ocean because of rip currents.
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One of them was Joshua Curtis.
Curtis, 38, was with his family at the Main Beach Park in Fernandina Beach on April 24. As strong rip currents began forming, Curtis began attempting to rescue his son and niece. The children survived, but Curtis was unable to make it out alive.
Curtis’ wife, Barbara, said that her husband was an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan for the 101st Airborne Infantry.
The photo below shows Curtis in uniform with his son in 2019.
Barbara spoke to News4JAX over the phone, saying, “He was a hero, he loved his son, he loved being a dad, he was a great husband.”
News4JAX also spoke to Curtis’ sister, Rachel Wall, by phone.
“He was the most wonderful father,” Wall said. “When I tell you, you could only want this kind of father.”
According to his family, Curtis loved the ocean and spear fishing. He and his family were looking for shark teeth the day he drowned.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the only drowning death to occur in recent weeks.
Twenty-one miles south of Fernandina Beach, at Hanna Park, a teenager drowned during Easter Sunday.
And this past Saturday, officials with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said a child drowned at Pine Ridge Plantation Amenity Center in Middleburg. The drowning happened at a pool and is being actively investigated.
Sadly, according to the CDC data, drowning deaths are highest during the summer months and that is whether it is in the ocean or a pool.
CDC also reports that approximately 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths occur annually in the United States, and that it is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4 years old.
