MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — First responders were called out Monday to the same Treasure Coast beach where a high school student went missing in the ocean one week ago.
His body was found the next day.
Fortunately, Monday’s report of a missing swimmer turned out not to be the case, but with another week of high winds and waves on tap, lifeguards are advising people to stay out of the water for now.
Joe and Eileen Martin are down from Rockaway Beach in New York, so they’ve seen their fair share of rough surf.
“You see the red flag and that tells you don’t go in the water,” Joe Martin said. “Put your feet in the water, but you don’t go in up to your waist, because a rip will take you.”
Monday morning, ocean-rescue lifeguards, along with the Martin County Sheriff Marine Unit and the Coast Guard scoured the coastline off Jensen Beach after a report of a missing swimmer.
It turned out not to be the case.
Really glad we didn’t have an emergency today, but our lifeguards did a fantastic job in response,” Martin Ocean Rescue Chief Ian Monteglas said.
With snowbirds getting set to flock to our shores, the message from lifeguards is safety first.
“If there are lifeguards on duty, you want to swim in front of them," Monteglas said. "Number two, if there are no lifeguards on duty, whether it’s before hours or after hours, I recommend not going for a swim.”
Monday’s search came just one week after a search in the same location for a missing high school student.
Thebody of 17-year-old Nick Alincy of St. Lucie County was discovered several miles south after a 24-hour search.
WPTV First Alert Weather Team said a storm system forming along a front is bringing north winds and setting up for another week of rough beach conditions. That has lifeguards on high alert.
“This time of year, the fall and winter we typically have higher winds and higher surf so we want to make sure that the public that is coming to visit the beach stays safe,” Monteglas said.
The Martins were sad to hear about last week’s tragedy, and glad there wasn’t one Monday.
“As I said, we wouldn’t go in like this. I like it nice and calm,” Eileen Martin said.
But it could be a few days before the ocean calms down again.