A father in Florida died while rescuing his son and his friends from a strong rip current at the beach. Last week, Mark Bryson and his partner, Lori McElligott, who are parents to four children ages 20, 11, 7, and 3, surprised their 7-year-old daughter with a birthday trip to Daytona Beach. While McElligott stayed behind with their youngest child at their hotel, their older children and several family friends, along with Bryson, went to the beach, where his son and friends got caught in the current.
Bryson was able to retrieve them all from the water before the current took him. His body was retrieved from the water by an adult friend, but sadly, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
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‘He was not going to lose anybody on his watch’ the father's partner said.
Lori McElligott, Bryson’s partner, co-parent of their four kids, and high school sweetheart of 26 years, said she never imagined a tragedy like this happening to her family, according to WKBN. “If you were to tell me that this is how it would have unfolded, I would have never believed you,” she said.
McElligott added that Bryson was a very strong swimmer, further adding to the disbelief and devastation of this accident for their family. “He was a strong person. He was just physically fit,” she said.
She pointed out that Bryson, her son, and the others had been standing in knee-high water in what they assumed was a safe area when the unthinkable took place.
"It just happened so fast. One second they were standing, and one second they had no sand to stand on. I’d never have imagined that being knee-deep would be a dangerous situation. We saw people body surfing further out, so for us, they were in a safe spot,” she said, per Fox 35 Orlando.
Even strong swimmers can be lost to the current, authorities say.
Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs, part of the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue team, noted that even healthy and fit swimmers can get dragged down by the current, something lifeguards are able to notice before swimmers, per WKBN.
“Even the strongest swimmers get pulled in them. That’s why it’s so important to swim in front of those lifeguard towers. They can actually see you caught in a rip current before you even realize it sometimes,” Malphurs said, according to the news outlet.
She noted that lifeguards have rescued a high number of swimmers from rip currents these past couple of weeks. In fact, it was 140 people from the past four days and 300 people over Memorial Day weekend, per Fox 35 Orlando.
Malphurs clarified that rip currents don’t pull you under but will carry you out farther into the ocean, pointing out that lifeguards are trained to spot them. "They’re specially trained to find those rip currents. We swim drill every day, every morning to learn what the water is doing for the day,” she said, per WKBN.
The country doesn't have enough lifeguards.
According to the American Lifeguard Association, there is a national lifeguard shortage that may affect many pools and beaches this summer, per Fox Business. As association representative Wyatt Werneth said, "We’re experiencing a critical national lifeguard shortage, with over 309,000 parks and pools. Over half of them will see closures or reduction in hours."
The American Lifeguard Association is advising people to check ahead of time to see if local pools or beaches have lifeguards on duty and to avoid areas where there isn’t a lifeguard, Fox Business reported.
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‘I can’t dwell on the what ifs,’ said Bryson's high school sweetheart.
Though Bryson, his son, and their friends were swimming near an unguarded tower on Friday, when they got caught in the rip current, there was no indication the swimming conditions were unsafe, according to WKBN. “There was a lifeguard stand, but there was not a lifeguard on duty, so there was a time delay in receiving assistance, and I don’t know if it would have made a difference. I can’t dwell on the ‘what ifs,” McElligott said.
Instead, Bryson’s family is planning on having a celebration of life for him, although the date has yet to be chosen. Only a week after his passing, their youngest child will be turning 4, per Fox 35 Orlando. McElligott shared that Bryson was an incredible dad and family man who worked hard to give his kids a good life and was always willing to help anybody.
Bryson did home renovation work and some mechanic work. "He was a great family man. He wanted his kids to have a better childhood than he had, so he worked very hard to make that happen,” McElligott said, according to Fox 35 Orlando, adding that he would always “help anybody.”
