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Two of Johnny Lee Vann Jr.'s kids were walking on a jetty wall on Sunday afternoon when they were swept off by a wave, Capt. Jason Bishop of the Wrightsville Beach Police Department told ABC News.
Vann was able to rescue one of the kids, but when he went back into the ocean for the other child, he couldn't stay above the water, Bishop said.
Are parents getting more lenient with their kids, or less "parental" (not saying "No", or "Get away from that water/get back over here") or just more "ignant" of situations? Why are these kids that need rescuing so close to the water, or in the water at all, let alone when the weather/wind/waves kicks up? Bodies of water are nothing to mess with...........
My sympathies to the families who have lost a father and loved one in this situation.
I didn't see anything about the man being unable to swim. He had already rescued one child, and maybe was already exhausted by the time he went for the second. I don't see where the criticism of letting his kids near the water is coming from either. There are definitely risks but millions of people go to the beach every year without incident. The thing about the ocean is things sometimes happen fast. One second the water is okay and the next a wave comes and knocks a kid off a jetty. This dad did what dads do: he went after his kids. It's a tragic story enough as it is. There's really no need to make judgmental "armchair" QB type comments about how the man shouldn't have been supervising kids that close to the water.
I didn't see anything about the man being unable to swim. He had already rescued one child, and maybe was already exhausted by the time he went for the second. I don't see where the criticism of letting his kids near the water is coming from either. There are definitely risks but millions of people go to the beach every year without incident. The thing about the ocean is things sometimes happen fast. One second the water is okay and the next a wave comes and knocks a kid off a jetty. This dad did what dads do: he went after his kids. It's a tragic story enough as it is. There's really no need to make judgmental "armchair" QB type comments about how the man shouldn't have been supervising kids that close to the water.
He should have had better judgment and never let his kids down on that jetty wall to begin with.
That said, I am a father of three. I am in good physical shape. I can swim. A few years back while on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I got caught in a riptide with one of my children trying to reach an offshore sandbar. The water was just over my head before reaching the sandbar. The current was strong against me I was able to push my one child into the shallower water is where the sandbar was. I was literally feet away from the sandbar and yet the current was pushing that hard against me, I almost did not make it.
Things happen and every year people drown in places you would not expect due to a sudden change in current or wave, riptide.
Always respect the water. May that man Rest In Peace
He should have had better judgment and never let his kids down on that jetty wall to begin with.
That said, I am a father of three. I am in good physical shape. I can swim. A few years back while on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I got caught in a riptide with one of my children trying to reach an offshore sandbar. The water was just over my head before reaching the sandbar. The current was strong against me I was able to push my one child into the shallower water is where the sandbar was. I was literally feet away from the sandbar and yet the current was pushing that hard against me, I almost did not make it.
Things happen and every year people drown in places you would not expect due to a sudden change in current or wave, riptide.
Always respect the water. May that man Rest In Peace
You should have had better judgment and never been out there trying to reach that sandbar to begin with.
See how that works? I'm glad your experience didn't make the news the way this man's family's experience did. I wish people could empathize without passing judgment.
He should have had better judgment and never let his kids down on that jetty wall to begin with.
That said, I am a father of three. I am in good physical shape. I can swim. A few years back while on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I got caught in a riptide with one of my children trying to reach an offshore sandbar. The water was just over my head before reaching the sandbar. The current was strong against me I was able to push my one child into the shallower water is where the sandbar was. I was literally feet away from the sandbar and yet the current was pushing that hard against me, I almost did not make it.
Things happen and every year people drown in places you would not expect due to a sudden change in current or wave, riptide.
Always respect the water. May that man Rest In Peace
I also once got caught in a riptide doing exactly this -- although my children were still by the shore. I'm an avid SCUBA diver, in pretty solid physical shape, and I had an incredibly hard time making it back.
It can happen to the best of us.
What I did was no different than standing on a jetty wall. As a matter-of-fact, it was probably more foolish, as I had to SWIM to the sandbar through water deeper than the 6' tall that I am, as opposed to simply walking on a structure.
I don't think a lot of people realize how dangerous it is to be on or near a jetty in the ocean. Kid's especially.The beaches I go to have signs, flags, and if they are guarded, lifeguards will make sure no one is on or within 50 or so feet of a jetty.
The father did his best and I am sad for the family and the loss of the father and child. The currents around jetties can drag you under not to mention all it takes is one strong wave to knock you into the jetty to knock you unconscious. But there is a kid in the water (especially your own) you go in. I imagine most fathers wouldn't worry about the danger they may be in, the kids are what matters.
By the way, to those who mentioned rip tides, the way to get out of them is to swim parallel to the shore, not to it. Rips are pretty narrow. Once you swim out of the rip, you can swim back to shore (swim diagonally back). Personally, even though I was a lifeguard in my youth and I still do ocean swimming, I would never ever swim at an unguarded beach and I usually have someone on the shore who knows I am out there and what I an doing. There is a lot that can go wrong in the ocean, even to the most experienced.
People truly do not understand the power of water/current.
This whole situation is very, very sad. RIP
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