• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Sheriff Investigating Apparent Drowning of 18-Year-Old Man Who Washed Up at Varn Park

June 16, 2020 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The man's body washed up in waters off Varn Park, north of Beverly Beach. (© FlaglerLive)
The man’s body washed up in waters off Varn Park, north of Beverly Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the death by apparent drowning of an 18-year-old man who washed up in the surf at Varn Park, just north of Beverly Beach, Monday afternoon.




Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene at around 4 p.m. after several people at the park reported seeing the 18 year old pulled from the water. A 56-year-old Palm Coast resident pulled him out and immediately administered CPR. The victim had lacerations to the head, according to an incident report.

“No one on scene was able to identify the male and have no idea where he came from,” the sheriff’s report states. “The unidentified male was wearing only boxers and a pair of socks and appeared to have been floating in the water for some time.” The current that day was southerly, leading responders to investigate the shoreline north from Varn Park. Deputies turned up nothing either on the beach or in parking lots that established any connection with the victim, who was transported to AdventHealth Palm Coast.

“Multiple statements were collected from the witnesses on scene. At this time there is no other information in
which deputies could use to identify the male,” the report states.

“Due to the active death investigation, this is all of the information available for release at this time,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said Tuesday morning. “The autopsy is scheduled for today. The person has been identified and is an 18 year old adult male but the identity is not being released due to the investigation. We do not believe foul play is suspected, however, this is the early stages of the investigation.”

Tashana Rodriguez, a 43-year-old Palm Coast resident, was at Varn Park when the man was discovered and alerted authorities, according to the sheriff’s report, along with others.




“A young boy got my attention by yelling ‘there’s a body in ocean’ and I ran over to confirm that it was a body,” Rodriguez wrote on her Facebook page Monday afternoon in a post that would be shared almost 700 times. “I’m yelling to my friend to call 911 and a gentleman pulled him out of the ocean and he started performing cpr on him and I started to pray over him along with other good people on beach trying to save this boys life. We performed cpr for about 10-15 mins till the paramedics came and took over.”

Rodriguez then described him as “a young black boy between the age of 15-19yrs old he was only [wearing] blue boxer briefs and orange socks.” It’s not clear why a swimmer would have been wearing socks, raising questions about what other circumstances may have contributed to the incident. The victim’s hair “was low cut on the sides on kinda long curly on top. Handsome young boy No family or friends on the beach to identify. We have no clue on how long he was in the ocean or where he came from. My friend and I walked the beach to try and find his family or friends no luck. He had no identification on him or we didn’t noticed any belongings on the beach.”

She added: “I’m praying that they identify this young boy and contact his family .. also they going need strength and healing from God to recover from this tragic loss. I’m truly heartbroken for his parents. 💔💔”

It is the second reported drowning along Flagler County’s shore in three weeks. An 80-year-old man drowned in Flagler Beach at the end of May.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Zachary Scott says

    June 16, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    May he rest in peace and may his Mom find peace. :(

    Reply
  2. Dorinda Renfroe says

    June 16, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    This was so horrible I tryed to help him I gave him cpr. God bless

    Reply
  3. A. J. says

    June 16, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    Sad, that happen. Two young men hanging, now this. Lord help us all.

    Reply
  4. jim lang says

    June 16, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    So sad, wonder how there going to blame this on Corona Virus.

    Reply
    • Ryan says

      June 23, 2020 at 8:07 pm

      Inappropriate. This is my friend’s son. Have some respect.

      Reply
  5. Jimbo99 says

    June 16, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    Lacerations to the head ? Boat propeller perhaps ? who knows how long he had been in the water as drowned ?

    Reply
  6. Resident says

    June 17, 2020 at 10:12 am

    Nothing sounds like homicide more than lacerations to the head, socks and no one searching for him. May he rest in peace.

    Reply
    • Resident says

      June 17, 2020 at 10:16 am

      Now that I give it more thought, he could’ve gone in near the rocks in The Hammock. Worn socks because of the rocks, then slipped and hit his head. So sad.

      Reply
  7. Keith Sullivan says

    June 17, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    I have a question although it has no bearing on this I have a question although it has no bearing on the outcome in this particular situation and given that the timelines are correct why did it take so long for EMS to get there . Both directions from Flagler Beach or from the Hammock along A1A are pretty easy to negotiate for emergency personnel

    Reply
    • Nicole Platt says

      June 19, 2020 at 8:29 pm

      I was one of the ones to work on trying to save his life . No one had any reception on the beach . Had to run out to the road to get reception

      Reply
  8. really says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    Ahh I’m no Detective but in theend there is alot more to this story. RIP

    Reply
  9. J. T. says

    June 18, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Socks as to not cut his feet on the rocks, I’ve done the same or have worn old tennis shoes. Also people do swim in their boxers if they are on short notice, he probably cracked his head open on the rocks and was washed away. A damn shame.

    Reply
  10. Paula says

    June 19, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    Has anyone found out who this boy is?

    Reply
    • FlaglerLive says

      June 20, 2020 at 8:02 am

      We have again asked for the man’s name but it’s still being withheld.

      Reply
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Cody Weston on Drag Queen Story Hour Is Not What You Think
  • Joshua Rosenbloom on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 4, 2023
  • FlaglerLive on Mistrial: Jury Deadlocks in Teron Trial On Rape Charges, Questioning Where Crime Took Place
  • Jaine on Mistrial: Jury Deadlocks in Teron Trial On Rape Charges, Questioning Where Crime Took Place
  • Steve Vanne on Drag Queen Story Hour Is Not What You Think
  • Greg on To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
  • Joshua Rosenbloom on To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
  • Steve on Drunk Driver Allegedly Goes Nuts on Deputy After Crashing Into Hydrant
  • Dennis C Rathsam on Behind the Divorce, a Bitter, Threat-Ridden Clash Between Waste Pro and Palm Coast Over Recycling Bins
  • Craig on To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
  • bob on Drunk Driver Allegedly Goes Nuts on Deputy After Crashing Into Hydrant
  • Atwp on Drunk Driver Allegedly Goes Nuts on Deputy After Crashing Into Hydrant
  • bob on Debt Deal a Rare Triumph for Political Center
  • Atwp on To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
  • FlaglerLocal on Drunk Driver Allegedly Goes Nuts on Deputy After Crashing Into Hydrant
  • TheTruth on At FPC, Misplaced ‘Man Cave’ Culture and Improprieties Cause Demise of Girls’ Basketball Coach

Log in