Florida woman warns of dangerous rip currents after losing husband at Daytona Beach
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Mark Bryson and Lori McElligott were high school sweethearts. They have four children together.
"He was a great family man. He wanted his kids to have a better childhood than he had, so he worked very hard to make that happen," said McElligott.
Bryson worked in home renovation and dabbled as a mechanic. McElligott recalls him pulling over on the side of the road to check on strangers who’d broken down.
"He would help anybody," she said.
On Friday, June 2, the couple went to Daytona Beach with some family friends. That was their daughter’s favorite place, and they were celebrating her 7th birthday, which was the day before.
There was a red flag warning that day, as there has been for the past couple of months. But the family doesn't remember seeing any signs warning them about it.
McElligott was at the splash pad with their three-year-old son, while her husband was with their other kids and friends playing by the ocean. The kids were under strict rules not to go any farther than knee-deep in the water.
She said her daughter came over to the splash pad, upset. The little girl complained that Bryson had tired of building sandcastles and had left her to swim instead.
"I said, ‘No, babe, I’m sure he just went to get more sand for the sandcastles. ‘She said, ‘No mom, he’s way out there,’" McElligott recounted.
"That’s when I heard the sirens."
The couple’s 11-year-old son, their friend, and the friend’s child had all been swept out into the water. Bryson went after them.
"It just happened so fast. One second they were standing, and one second they had no sand to stand on," said McElligott. "I’d never have imagined that being knee-deep would be a dangerous situation. We saw people body surfing further out, so for us, they were in a safe spot."
Bryson was able to pull the children from the water and then went back after their friend. That’s when he got caught in the current himself.
Mark Bryson and Lori McElligott had been together since high school. Last Friday, he lost his life trying to save others from rip currents in Daytona Beach
A lifeguard got their friend out. But by the time the lifeguard went after Bryson, it was too late.
"Behind me, I heard someone yell, ‘Clear!’ I turned around, and that’s when I saw Mark," his wife said.
Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs with Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue says their teams have rescued 140 people from rip currents in the past 4 days alone.
Over Memorial Day weekend, they pulled 300 people from the water.
"They’re specially trained to find those rip currents," said Malphurs. "We swim drill every day, every morning to learn what the water is doing for the day."
She explained rip currents don’t pull swimmers underwater, but they pull them out farther into the ocean.
"If you try to swim back through that rip current to shore, that’s when people get exhausted and drown. Don’t panic; float. Wave for help. Swim parallel to shore," Malphurs advised.
It’s only been a few days since McElligott lost her husband, and since her four kids lost their dad.
But now, she’s trying to educate others about the power rip currents hold.
"His thing was, ‘Be great,’" she said. "That’s what he wanted for everyone. He wanted them to be great, be a better version of yourself."
The family is planning to hold a celebration of life at some point but hasn’t decided on a date just yet.
Thursday, less than a week from Bryson’s passing, is their son’s fourth birthday.
But right now, McElligott is focusing on how to keep other families from going through what hers did.
Volusia County Beach Safety has an app you can download.
It tells you what the water conditions are and whether they’re considered hazardous, what beach access ramps are open, and where to find the lifeguard towers that are staffed for the day.
But Ocean Rescue says don’t go in the water at all if there are hazardous conditions that day, and you aren’t near a staffed lifeguard tower.