Swimmer who drowned off Cocoa Beach identified
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COCOA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Authorities have located the body of a swimmer who was swept into the Atlantic Ocean by strong rip currents, near Cocoa Beach on Monday afternoon.
A Cocoa Beach police spokesman has identified the victim as 29-year-old Nelson Pepin, of Kissimmee.
Witnesses said Pepin got caught up in the strong current while swimming with his family. Family members tried to grab him, but the current pulled him from their grip.
Double red flags were flying at the beach on Monday afternoon, and officials cautioned beachgoers about rough surf conditions.
This is the second drowning on Central Florida's east coast in a week. On Friday, a 60-year-old man from Sanford, Florida went swimming in an unguarded area of the Atlantic Ocean, near the Daytona Beach Boardwalk. He began to have trouble, according to witnesses, and disappeared under the water. He was later found unresponsive and pronounced deceased at an area hospital. His identity was not immediately released.