Rip currents blamed for death of Brownsville man

A trip to Boca Chica beach on Sunday turned out to be a deadly experience for one Brownsville family.

Jesus Rodriguez, 30, died after getting caught in a rip current, Sheriff Omar Lucio said.

“He was swimming in a rip current and his brother was able to pull him out and his sister who is CPR trained gave him CPR,” he said.

Lucio said Rodriguez was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Tony Torres at Valley Regional Medical Center.

Mark Edward Angel, 42, of Russell Kentucky, and Humberto Espinoza Molina, 18 of Matamoros both drowned at Playa Bagdad in Matamoros Sunday.

Coincidentally, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association declared Sunday, June 3 to Saturday National Rip Current Awareness Week.

“A rip current is a return flow of water from the beach back out into the ocean,” said Tony Abbott, forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Abbott said the pile up of water causes a rip current to break.

“As the waves come in, you’ve got water coming onshore by wind or tidal activity. As it comes on shore it has to go somewhere,” he said.

Abbott advised the best way to avoid losing your life in a rip current is to swim across, not against the current and stay calm.

For more on this story read Tuesday's Brownsville Herald.
by:www.brownsvilleherald.com