Heading off to vacation at the beach is a rite of passage for many families. Unfortunately, it ended in tragedy for one family from Pennsylvania.
Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishart, 48 were swimming in the ocean with two of their teenage children. It took place on Hutchinson Island on June 20, but the situation took a very bad turn.
When the ocean waters got rough due to a rip current, the teenagers were able to escape and make it back to shore. Unfortunately, the parents died in the ocean.
A statement was released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office that outlined the details of the incident. The teenagers tried to save their parents but were unable to get through the current. It wasn’t long before emergency services were dispatched and rescue efforts took place. Unfortunately, both Brian and Erica were transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.
According to reports from the area, the water conditions were dangerous on Tuesday afternoon. Red flags were warning swimmers at the beach of the riptide conditions. The flags are posted to alert those at the beach of the water dangers.
According to Brian’s father, Larry Warter, his son and Erica were in a relationship and engaged to be married. Erica had four children and Brian had two children. They were waiting until the children finished college before they got married.
They took the trip to Stuart, Florida and it was a very exciting time for them. Warter said: “They were so thrilled, they couldn’t see straight about going down. “This was the first time. This was the experiment. They had all six of their kids together. They had been planning it for over a month.
The community has given an outpouring of support to the entire family. Warter said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by offers of help and everything else. We thought we were going through this alone and it hasn’t been.”
A tribute to Erica was posted on the fundraising page. “Erica was simply an amazing person. She was a loving mother of two sons and two daughters; with her youngest son being adopted at a young age.
“Erica worked at an elementary school teaching special needs children, and later worked in her school library. She spent a significant amount of time helping at her local church. We could go on and on, but we think you get the picture by now. She was one of the nicest human beings you could ever meet.”
Rip currents can be extremely dangerous. The National Weather Service offers advice on its website. They said:
“Trying to swim against a rip current will only use up your energy; energy you need to survive and escape the rip current. Do NOT try to swim directly into the shore. Swim along the shoreline until you escape the current’s pull. When free from the pull of the current, swim at an angle away from the current toward shore,” the website advises. The service also recommends never swimming alone and adhering to the motto, “If in doubt, don’t go out!”
