A Maine family's beach vacation in South Florida ended in tragedy when a rip current off Juno Beach pulled a father and two of his children out to sea, killing the 46-year-old dad who managed to save both kids. Authorities say Ryan Jennings of North Yarmouth was in the water with his 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter when the powerful current swept them away from shore. Jennings pushed his son toward safety, then lifted his daughter above the surface as they drifted farther out, the Bangor Daily News reports. The children survived; Jennings did not. "He made sure they made it out alive," his wife, Emily, tells the Daily News. "He truly was our hero."
A Juno Beach Police Department incident report says Jennings was unconscious and being brought to shore when officers arrived at the scene, NBC News reports. Life-saving measures were attempted but he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The report states that the children told officers they were struggling in the water when their father "came into the ocean to save them." Jennings, a stepfather who had embraced his wife's first child as his own and later welcomed two more, was known locally as a youth sports coach and volunteer. Emily says she learned she was pregnant with their fourth child just before they flew to Florida to visit Ryan's parents.
His death comes as much of Florida's Atlantic coast has been under high-risk rip current warnings; the area near Juno Beach has seen multiple such drownings in recent years. A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised almost $180,000, and his parents plan to launch a $5,000 annual scholarship in his name for a local student who reflects his reputation for generosity and character. "He wasn't always a straight-A student, so I didn't wanna give it out based on grades. It's more about character," his mother tells the Daily News. "So that all the kids growing up in the school system, Ryan's kids, they'll all understand what it means to have an open heart."
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