Dad dies on Father’s Day rescuing daughter off popular Florida beach, reports say

An Alabama man died on Father’s Day while rescuing his daughter from swift currents off a popular Florida beach, according to relatives.

Christopher Pierce, 47, was staying with his family at the Tidewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach when “his daughter was overtaken by a rip current” on Sunday, June 18, WVTM reported.

“He was successfully able to get her out of the water,” Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez told WMBB.

“But in his attempt, he got caught in a rip current. ... There are no words to describe what the family is probably going through when they lose their father, a husband, on Father’s Day while they’re on vacation.”

Pierce was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Emergency Department in Panama City Beach where he was pronounced dead, WBRC reported.

His daughter’s condition was not released.

Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico were hazardous in the area on Father’s Day. City officials placed beaches “under double red flags” late in the day, “due to dangerous rip currents,” according to a Twitter post. Anyone getting in the water faced a $500 fine, the city said.

A Facebook page for Pierce reports the family of three lived in Helena, south of Birmingham, and he was a general sales manager for a Ford dealership.

This story was originally published June 20, 2023 at 7:23 AM with the headline "Dad dies on Father’s Day rescuing daughter off popular Florida beach, reports say."