Man dies after getting caught in rip current off of Sarasota coast

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - Two people in Sarasota County got caught up in a rip current. They fought for an hour, only one made it back to shore alive.

Signs warn of the dangerous waters off Lido Key Beach, however the two friends likely didn't see them in the darkness when they decided to take a nighttime swim Sunday.

Investigators with Sarasota Police say around 9 o'clock Sunday, the two were swimming when they got pulled out, and became stuck in a rip current. 

"They were stuck and the woman was swimming for an hour against it before she was able to get to shore,” said Genevieve Judge, a spokesperson for Sarasota police. 

The woman called for help and rescue crews found the man’s body a short time later.  First responders attempted CPR but had no luck.

Roy Routh, the captain of Sarasota County Beach Patrol, says night-time swims in the Gulf are a bad idea.

“There’s no one on the beach, no one can see you.  And if you call for distress, there's no one to hear your cries for help,” Routh said. 

A rip current is a tide that flows out towards the sea.  Survival requires not panicking and going with the flow, swimming parallel to the shore until you can break free.