A Jackson man drowned over the weekend in the Gulf of Mexico while visiting Panama City Beach, officials said.
Frederick Tillman, 25, of Jackson, was one of three people who died Saturday, two of drowning and one of a heart attack, while swimming in dangerous water conditions.
Tillman, who was the second drowning victim, was pulled from the surf behind the Boardwalk Beach Resort. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, and he was transported to Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"We had bad rip currents at the time and were flying double red flags, one of which says, 'No Swimming,'" said Sgt. William Bruhmiller of the Panama City Beach Police Department.
"It's posted in all the rooms, at all the beach accesses, and we were even flying banner planes. It's posted everywhere," he said. "I can't speak for (Tillman), whether he saw it or not."
Bruhmiller said the Beach Police worked over 30 rescue calls in six hours, and then another at 10 p.m. and one at 2 a.m. Sunday.
"And still we don't know how many bystanders were going in to help people out," he said. "There was one lady I heard say, 'I'm done pulling people in.'"
The first drowning victim Saturday was Charles Smith, 47, of Panama City Beach. The Panama City News-Herald said he drowned while snorkeling near Edgewater Beach Resort. He began snorkeling at about the same time the flags were changed to double red.
At about 1 p.m., Smith's wife alerted police and told them he had been snorkeling for quite some time. Smith was later found beachside behind the Sterling Reef Resort by EMS.
The News-Herald reports the third swimmer who died had a heart attack after he had been out of the water for about 10 minutes. Authorities did not release his identity Saturday.
Bruhmiller said it's not unusual for vacationers to ignore warning flags because they don't want to miss out on the fun on their vacations, and they're determined to get in the water.
"We had a tough weekend," he said.
Frederick Tillman, 25, of Jackson, was one of three people who died Saturday, two of drowning and one of a heart attack, while swimming in dangerous water conditions.
Tillman, who was the second drowning victim, was pulled from the surf behind the Boardwalk Beach Resort. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, and he was transported to Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"We had bad rip currents at the time and were flying double red flags, one of which says, 'No Swimming,'" said Sgt. William Bruhmiller of the Panama City Beach Police Department.
"It's posted in all the rooms, at all the beach accesses, and we were even flying banner planes. It's posted everywhere," he said. "I can't speak for (Tillman), whether he saw it or not."
Bruhmiller said the Beach Police worked over 30 rescue calls in six hours, and then another at 10 p.m. and one at 2 a.m. Sunday.
"And still we don't know how many bystanders were going in to help people out," he said. "There was one lady I heard say, 'I'm done pulling people in.'"
The first drowning victim Saturday was Charles Smith, 47, of Panama City Beach. The Panama City News-Herald said he drowned while snorkeling near Edgewater Beach Resort. He began snorkeling at about the same time the flags were changed to double red.
At about 1 p.m., Smith's wife alerted police and told them he had been snorkeling for quite some time. Smith was later found beachside behind the Sterling Reef Resort by EMS.
The News-Herald reports the third swimmer who died had a heart attack after he had been out of the water for about 10 minutes. Authorities did not release his identity Saturday.
Bruhmiller said it's not unusual for vacationers to ignore warning flags because they don't want to miss out on the fun on their vacations, and they're determined to get in the water.
"We had a tough weekend," he said.
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