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June 26, 2009
UPDATE….Two people who died on seashore beaches are identified
By IRENE NOLAN
 The National Park Service has identified two people who died after swimming in the ocean on the seashore yesterday. According to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Chief Ranger Paul Stevens, the two victims were Barbara Eugenia Mason, 64, of Kitty Hawk and Paul Kozuch, 87, of Fenelton, Pa. Neither case, Stevens said, was an obvious drowning. According to the Park Service, Mason was “just a little way out” in the water near Ramp 1 on Bodie Island when she said she was having respiratory problems. She was helped onto the beach, said she didn’t feel well, and collapsed. Numerous law enforcement and emergency personnel responded to the scene, including Nags Head Ocean Rescue, Nags Head Police and Fire Department, Dare County Sheriff’s Office, Dare County Emergency Medical Services, and the National Park Service. Stevens said CPR was started on the beach and was continued in an ambulance on the way to Outer Banks Hospital, where Mason was pronounced dead. Stevens said that, according to a witness report, Kozuch was swimming with his daughter about 100 to 200 feet out in the water near the Frisco Pier. The witness said that the man said he needed help getting back to shore. By the time bystanders reached him in the water, he was floating face down. Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, Dare County EMS, and the Park Service responded to the distress call. CPR was started by bystanders and continued by emergency personnel. Kozuch was transported to HealthEast Family Care in Hatteras village, where he was pronounced dead. Stevens said it is not apparent that either case was a drowning, which would have to be determined by an autopsy. Other medical conditions, he said, could have been a factor in the deaths. Although there were not a lot of rip currents observed yesterday, rescue personnel say that a high astronomical tide and a heavy southeast swell could have contributed to the conditions that resulted in at least six rescue calls on the seashore yesterday afternoon. Swimmers, Stevens said, can panic if they get into distress, which could bring on death from other medical problems. There was a high threat of rip currents south of Cape Hatteras today, but the afternoon was quiet compared to yesterday’s flurry of rescue calls. June 25, 2009 Two people die in apparent drownings on seashore beaches By IRENE NOLAN Two people who were involved in the incidents died, according to seashore Chief Ranger Paul Stevens. Neither is a confirmed drowning, Stevens said. The first death involved a woman who had to be helped from the surf near Ramp 1 on Bodie Island. Stevens said she was alert and responsive, but then lost consciousness. Rescue personnel on the scene started CPR, but the woman, whose name Stevens said he did not know late this afternoon, was pronounced dead at Outer Banks Hospital. The second death happened near the Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier in Frisco. Bob Helle of the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad said that incident involved a white male, who was brought ashore by bystanders. Helle said the bystanders had already started CPR when rescue personnel arrived on the scene. Rescue and EMS took over CPR and transported the victim who also has not been identified by park officials. According to Helle, a member of the victim’s group said the man reported that he was having trouble getting back to shore. Another member of the group went out to help him, Helle said. That person was also transported off the beach by medical personnel, but survived. There were at least three confirmed calls for rescue in the park’s Hatteras District – from Avon south – according to Park Service ranger David Carter. Two of the others were reported north of Cape Point on the beach in front of the motels and cottages in Buxton. There were also several calls for rescues early this afternoon to the Chicamacomico Banks Rescue Squad. The National Weather Service forecasters in Newport, N.C., had predicted a high probability of rip currents from Cape Hatteras north for today, and a moderate risk from Cape Hatteras south. Both Helle and Carter said that there were not widespread, easily identifiable rip currents off Hatteras. “The ocean did not look that powerful,” Helle said. However, he noted that the combination of the swell and an astronomically higher than usual tide combined to made ocean conditions more dangerous with waves driven higher on the shore with a longer period between them than usual. The result was more water rushing back into the ocean, which, he said, may have caused problems for some swimmers. Tomorrow, the Weather Service is predicting a high risk of rip currents from Cape Hatteras south and a moderate risk from Cape Hatteras north. Helle said the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad is expecting another busy day tomorrow and hopes to have its truck with a public address system out on the beaches to warn swimmers. For more information on rip currents and the local rip current forecast, go to: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/mhx/RipHazard.html |
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