Ryan Jennings, North Yarmouth, Maine ‘hero’ dad drowns save 2 kids from Juno Beach rip tide while family was vacationing in Florida. How dad sacrificed his own life for his family.
A Maine father has been hailed a hero after sacrificing his own life while saving the lives of his two young children after getting caught in a rip current while the family vacationing in Florida.
Ryan Jennings of North Yarmouth was on vacation with his wife and two kids in Florida, with the family having gone to Florida’s Juno beach on Wednesday.
At some point, just on 2.30 p.m, the water formation began to move and a rip current formed leading to Jennings, his son and one of his daughters being pulled away from the shore.
Quick thinking dad saves the lives of his infant children during sudden current
Instinctively, Jennings threw his 12-year-old son toward shore and out of the current. He grabbed his 9-year-old daughter and hoisted her above his head, keeping her above the water as they were both dragged out to sea.
Both children survived. But dad didn’t.
‘He made sure they made it out alive,’ his wife, Emily Jennings told BangorDailyNews. ‘He truly was our hero.’
According to the Palm Beach County Fire Department, Ryan Jennings and his children were not swimming in an area overseen by lifeguards.
North Yarmouth dad died the way he lived
Ryan died the same way he lived, Emily said. No matter what, he was thinking of others first. And there was no one he cared about more than his kids.
Emily explained how Ryan took Emily’s son as his own when they met ten years ago. Emily described Ryan as her rock. No matter what she needed, whether it was housework or a new dress, he was happy to help.
Soon after they married, they had two daughters of their own and bought a house in North Yarmouth. Just before they made the trip to Florida, Emily learned she was pregnant with their fourth child.
How to escape rip current
Rip currents occur when a narrow stream of water flows quickly away from the shore, through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves. They are formed when waves break near the shoreline, piling up water between the break and the beach.
They aren’t always dangerous, but under certain conditions, the speeds can be too much for even an Olympic swimmer. The best remedy is to swim parallel to the shoreline until a pocket opening allows the swimmer to move past the surge. Panicked swimmers often fight the current, attempting to swim towards the shore, exhausting themselves as they are taken out to depths.
Rip currents account for about 80% of rescues conducted each year at U.S. beaches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On average, about 70 people drown in rip currents every year in the U.S., data from the National Weather Service shows. The area near Juno Beach where Jennings drowned has seen more than a half dozen rip current drownings in the last two years alone.
A GoFundMe for the Jennings family as of Saturday afternoon had raised more than $119,228.
