‘I lost his grip.’ Swift currents tear teen away from dad on birthday trip to coast
.png "A 14-year-old was pulled away from the shore during a swim in high risk currents in Orange Beach, Alabama on May 21. The search for the teen continues.")
A teen who got swept into strong currents on May 21 in Orange Beach, Alabama, remains missing and search efforts continue, according to fire department officials.
The swimmer in the ocean disappeared after getting pulled by strong currents with choppy waves reaching 4-to-6 feet, officials from the Orange Beach Fire Department posted on Facebook.
At about 5 p.m. Eastern time that day, officials started flying double red flags as the water conditions became “life-threatening,” according to the fire department.
A double-flag signals waters are closed to the public and swimmers need to get out of the water.
Shortly after 5 p.m., emergency crews received a call for a swimmer in distress. By the time they arrived on the scene, they weren’t able to locate him, fire department officials said.
Tyreke Walker, 14, and his family were visiting from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to celebrate Tyreke’s birthday and recent middle school graduation, Canhtam “Tammy” Nguyen, his mother, told The Advocate.
Clint Walker, Tyreke’s father, said they were both in the ocean when he saw that his son was getting pulled away from the shore by the water, according to WALA.
“He’s like ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come back,’” Walker told the outlet. “I grabbed him, and I had him, but the water was just pulling us and pulling us. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I lost his grip. I kept getting thrown to the bottom of the water, and somehow, I made it to shore, and he didn’t. I just wish I would’ve held on longer.”
At about 8:27 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, emergency personnel said they moved from a water-based search to a land-based search as water conditions had become too extreme to continue.
As of Sunday, May 22, emergency crews said they are continuing to search the shoreline but still have not located the missing teen.
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 2:37 PM with the headline "‘I lost his grip.’ Swift currents tear teen away from dad on birthday trip to coast."
