A 71-year-old Bradenton man drowned June 26 in the Gulf of Mexico in Bradenton Beach.
Benjamin Warren Griffith was found floating in the water at the north end of Cortez Beach by a beachgoer.
Eyewitnesses observed Griffith swim out between shore and the “no motor craft” buoy, according to a Bradenton Beach Police Department report.
Griffith was staying with friends at a vacation house on Fourth Street in Bradenton Beach and he and Kimberly Lampercht, a resident of Bradenton Beach, had walked to the beach.
Lampercht saw Griffith floating face down and entered the water. She brought him to shore, where she initiated CPR until emergency service personnel arrived.
Manatee County Beach Patrol and Manatee Emergency Medical Services, as well as West Manatee Fire Rescue, responded to a 911 call.
EMS transported Griffith to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton, where he was pronounced deceased.
Lt. Lenard Diaz of the BBPD confirmed June 30 that Griffith’s death was ruled a drowning.
— Robert Anderson