Kentucky child, 13, drowns at beach in Destin, Fla.
A 13-year-old Kentucky boy drowned in the Gulf of Mexico while visiting the beach in Destin, Fla., Friday.
Several juveniles were “struggling in the water about 65 yards off shore” when surfers caught sight of them and helped rescue them, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
But the sheriff’s office said one of the swimmers could not be found. After a search, the child was later recovered from the water by the sheriff’s department’s marine unit.
The boy was a seventh-grade student at Fulton County Middle School in Hickman, said Fulton County Schools Superintendent Patrice Chambers.
“Cylen will be missed,” she said in an email.
Members of the Hickman community, which sits along the Mississippi River in far Western Kentucky, shared their grief in Facebook posts.
“Please say a prayer for the Fulton County community,” Kim Gooch wrote. “They lost a very special young man this week. I was blessed to have had him in Kindergarten and he could ALWAYS light up a room just by being in it. Love you so much, Cylen! May you always rest easy in the Father’s arms! You will be missed by so many.”
The TPM Youth Group shared a video that showed Cylen on the basketball court and at church gatherings. The post stated, “Thank you, God, for the time that you allowed us to have with Cylen. Our group will never be the same, but we will continue to lean on and trust in you.”
The sheriff’s office said deputies were called at about 11:30 a.m. about a “distressed swimmer” at 3690 Scenic Hwy. 98.
Before the child was found, the sheriff’s office said responders from EMS and the fire department, Beach Safety, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife helped with the search.
Destin Beach Safety, a rescue service operating in the Destin Fire Control District, said in a Facebook post Friday that weather conditions made Friday a “red flag” or “high hazard” day at the beach.
“Always swim near a lifeguard,” the post stated.
Later Friday, the organization said it was upgrading conditions to a double red flag, meaning the water was closed.
