JUNO BEACH, Fla. — A Maine father is being called a hero after he gave his life to save his children from a deadly rip current during a family vacation to Juno Beach.
Ryan Jennings, 46, and two of his kids were caught in a powerful rip current in an area of the beach with no lifeguard on duty. Jennings managed to push his 12-year-old son toward the shore and lift his 9-year-old daughter above the water, helping both escape the deadly current.
He did not make it out himself.
"Ry was a very witty, quick to make people smile," Gail McLaughlin Toti said.
Toti, Jennings' mother, will always remember her son as a hero.
"They were in the water playing, and they started to get tugged by the riptide," Toti said.
"I do know that Ryan treaded water to get his two kids to safety, and that without his bravery, I wouldn't have them either," Toti said.
Toti said her son was no stranger to the ocean.
"This was a tragic accident, and it wasn't a lack of knowledge of being able to swim or knowing riptides... even someone as strong as my son, even an Olympic swimmer, can't get out of a rip [current]," Toti said.
Ocean Rescue warns that rip currents can be unpredictable and deadly. The agency emphasizes the importance of swimming near lifeguards, checking beach warnings, and knowing what to do if caught in a current.
Toti's message to others is to cherish each moment with those you love.
"So if you're lucky enough to have your kids or your spouse or your friends or family, you need to remember, you know, to have that kindness and to practice it in a world that isn't really kind these days," Toti said.
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