JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A swimmer is presumed dead after going missing near Huguenot Memorial Park. It was a devastating situation as the rescue mission for officials turned into a recovery mission.
Sources tell Action News Jax a man in his 20s was swimming with friends when this happened, crews with JSO air units and water crews huddled around the water near Alimacani Park, which is along Hecksher Drive. Action News Jax also saw crews take the body back to shore.
JFRD said they got a call around 1:10 in the afternoon and had about 10 units both on land and in the water searching for a young adult.
The situation is something that local mother Heather Dupree is unfortunately far too familiar with.
“I feel like the more that time has gone on the harder it’s gotten, the reality of he’s not coming back on has set in,” she said.
Exactly 11 months ago on Saturday, her husband Larry Dupree died after saving his kids in the water. The rip currents for his situation were the same as Saturday, with red flag warnings up.
“It literally happened within seconds,” she said. “It was unbelievable how things unfolded, and you just never know because you’re literally a grain of salt to the ocean.”
Action News Jax saw JSO dive crews leave the scene around 5:30 p.m.
Dupree says she is praying for the family and friends of the swimmer.
“They are in my thoughts and I’m sorry this happened to them and I’m sorry they have to go through the same heartache,” she said.
Dupree said while it’s not easy to deal with, she said one of the better ways to cope with something like this is to talk about it constantly, talk about the person and keep their memory alive.
Action News Jax is still working to learn more information about the swimmer who died as well as the circumstances surrounding it.
Starting after 11 a.m. Saturday, JaxReady, an official Twitter for the city’s emergency division posted that waters off the coast of North Florida were under a red flag warning, due to strong rip currents and dangerous ocean conditions warning swimmers not to get in the water.
RED FLAG WARNING - HIGH HAZARD / DANGEROUS OCEAN CONDITIONS. Swimmers should not go in the water. In case of emergencies, call 911.
— JaxReady (@JaxReady) April 23, 2022
Crews are searching for a missing swimmer at Hugenot park…this is a multi agency search involving us, the lifeguards, and @JSOPIO
— THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) April 23, 2022
This is a developing story and will be updated when new information is provided.
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