By Larry Barszewski
The Memorial Day weekend ended with two apparent ocean drownings, in Manalapan and in South Palm Beach, according to law enforcement officers.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue responded to a possible drowning of a juvenile in South Palm Beach near the Lantana public beach around 7:30 p.m. May 24.
“Upon arrival, they located a juvenile unresponsive after being pulled from the water by a good Samaritan,” according to the sheriff’s office. “The investigation established the juvenile was not a strong swimmer and was at the beach with his family. After being in the water for a short time, he began to struggle and was not able to stay afloat when a good Samaritan pulled him from the water and brought him to shore.”
The juvenile was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital and was pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m., officials said. The case remains open pending an autopsy.
On Memorial Day, May 25, Manalapan police and other agencies responded around 1 p.m. to a possible drowning near the Boynton Inlet in the 4000 block of South Ocean Boulevard. An officer at the beach had called in the report of a male not breathing.
Two juveniles told police they saw a man floating motionless in the ocean, so they jumped in from the pier and brought him to shore. Police performed CPR at the scene and Boynton Beach Fire Rescue transported him to Bethesda Hospital East, where he was pronounced dead.
The man, who had gone to Ocean Inlet Park, was identified as Shawn Whitley Duncan. The case remains open pending an autopsy.
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