New information is coming out from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida where White Hall head football coach Ryan Mallett tragically lost his life Tuesday in a drowning incident.
Shortly after the incident occurred local media outlets in Destin, Florida began attributing a rip current as the cause of the drowning.
Deltaplex News reached out to a local reporter in the area and was told rip currents have caused several drownings over the past two weeks on beaches on the Florida panhandle in addition to beaches in Alabama.
Additionally, the Associated Press said that Mallett is one of 11 people killed after getting caught in rip currents. However, on Wednesday Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden released a statement refuting reports that Mallett’s drowning was caused by a rip current.
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A press release sent out Wednesday afternoon said emergency responders found six individuals who were struggling to make it back to the shore. Destin Beach Safety quickly arrived on scene, where they were informed one of the swimmers had submerged and failed to resurface.
Two lifeguards promptly entered the water to assist the swimmers and recover the submerged individual. An additional lifeguard entered to help locate and recover the submerged swimmer.
Once the patient was brought to shore, lifeguards along with the help of Destin Fire Paramedics immediately commenced life saving measures.
The submerged swimmer was confirmed to be Ryan Mallett of Arkansas.
June 27, 2023 flag conditions were yellow. A yellow flag indicates medium hazard, moderate surf and/or currents. There were no rip currents present in the area in which we responded to Ryan Mallett.
Destin Beach Safety’s official statistics between the dates of June 14-25 are as follows:
Attendance – 207,775
Minor 1st Aid – 33
Major 1st Aid – 22
Public Contact – 118,550
Preventative Actions – 84,980
Missing People – 7
Person’s Rescued – 48
Assists – 24
PWC Infractions – 19
The release also states “There were no drownings in Destin, Florida during this time. The flag colors between June 14-June 25 were either Single Red or Double Red due to large surf and life-threatening rip currents. Double Red Flag signifies that it is unlawful to enter the Gulf of Mexico.”
