Man dies in ocean on Thursday, second man dies Friday after getting caught in rip current

A 76-year-old man from Kentucky was pronounced dead after being pulled from the ocean near Daytona Beach Shores Thursday and a Lakeland man died after getting caught in a rip current off Daytona Beach on Friday, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office.

The man from Kentucky was identified as Robert Sarver, from Lawrenceburg who was in the area with family members and was in the water with his grandson.

No staffed lifeguard tower

Sarver was swimming in an area without a staffed lifeguard tower, according to Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs.

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A witness told the sheriff's office he saw Sarver floating face down in waist-deep water, according to a report. He said he went to see if Sarver was playing a prank and then pulled him from the water when he saw he was unconscious.

When a deputy arrived at around 2 p.m., he saw several bystanders performing CPR. First responders took Sarver to Halifax Health Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff's office.

Malphurs urged people to use the Volusia County Beaches app to see where staffed lifeguard towers are located before heading to the beach.

The Volusia County Sheriff's office is now in charge of the law enforcement side of the beaches, so they will investigate the cause of death.

"We're not positive if that was a rip-current related or if he had a medical episode," Malphurs said.

Caught in a rip current

In another episode, a little after 11 a.m., three people from Lakeland were swimming in an unguarded area of Daytona Beach when they were caught in a rip current, Malphurs said.

When lifeguards arrived on the scene, two people had made it to shore. Lifeguards pulled a third person to the beach. The man had no pulse, and lifeguards performed CPR. He was taken to a hospital and later died, she said Saturday.

A condition status wasn't available for the other two people.

"People tend to underestimate the power of a rip current quite often," Malphurs said.

Malphurs estimated that Volusia County lifeguards have rescued over 550 people from the ocean over the past couple of weeks.

- Staff Writer Mark Harper contributed to this story.