TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Officials are searching for a swimmer who went missing off the Pinellas County coast on Wednesday.
According to Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue Chief Jeffrey Davidson, crews from several agencies were called to a beach in Indian Shores at 9 a.m.
The missing swimmer was with a group when they disappeared, but has not been publicly identified yet. Davidson said the waters were choppy that morning and it’s possible the swimmer got swept up in a rip current.
“Some people thought they had a visual of the missing person, but the seas were so rough and there’s so many buoys out there, it’s hard to distinguish if it was an actual person,” Davidson said. “They were a couple hundred yards off the coast.”
According to flight data from FlightRadar24, a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office helicopter has been circling the area for nearly three hours, as of this report.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat was one of several spotted nearby. The boat deployed a dive team during the search.
Law enforcement is staged along the beach, where paramedics have set up a tent.
No additional details were available.
This is a developing story. Stay up to date on the latest from News Channel 8 on-air and on the go with the free WFLA News Channel 8 mobile app.
