Authorities on Wednesday released partial-body camera video footage of the scene at a Gulf Coast beach in Florida’s Panhandle, where Ryan Mallett, a former NFL player, appeared to drown earlier this week.
Addressing public speculation about the conditions in the water that may have caused the fatal incident, the sheriff said it was due to currents – which the National Weather Service has reported at least seven deaths at nearby Panama City Beach over the course of nine days in this month, dated June 15, and 24 – were not present in the area and therefore played no role in the fatal incident.
Citing first responders responding to the drowning incident, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said they arrived at the beach near Gulf Shore Drive in Destin just after 2 p.m. ET Tuesday afternoon and found a group of people in the water found near the second sandbank. He reportedly struggled to return to land. One person from the group, later identified as Mallett, went under and was not breathing when lifeguards pulled her out. Destin is approximately 50 miles from Panama City Beach.
Click here to view related media.
Click to expand
Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and Mallett was later pronounced dead at the Destin emergency room, according to the sheriff’s office.
“In response to dozens of media inquiries from across the United States, we wanted to let you know that investigators from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to gather information regarding the drowning of a tourist from Arkansas in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon,” the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Wednesday post shared on Facebook, which included a short clip showing a police officer running along the beach while reacting to the scene.
In response to dozens of media inquiries from across the United States, we wanted to let you know that investigators from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to gather information about the drowning of an Arkansas tourist in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon. The victim is former NFL pro athlete Ryan Mallett. According to investigators, Mallett began struggling around 2:15 p.m. as he attempted to swim to a second sandbar about 150 feet offshore near Gulf Shores Drive in Destin. Despite widespread misinformation in the media, yellow safety flags were flying on the beach at the time and there were no signs of any “spring tides”. The video below shows beach conditions as an OCSO deputy rushes to the scene. Sheriff Eric Aden says the entire agency and community is saddened by the tragedy.
Posted by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday June 28, 2023
“Investigators say Mallett had problems around 2:15 p.m. while attempting to swim to a second sand bar about 150 feet offshore near Gulf Shores Drive in Destin,” the post continued, adding, ” Despite widespread misinformation in the media, yellow safety flags on the beach were flying at the time and there was no evidence of “spring tides”.
Mallett was 35 when he died on Tuesday. A former Arkansas quarterback who also played for Baltimore, Houston and New England in the NFL for five seasons, his last position was as a football coach at White Hall High School in Arkansas, where he was originally from.
“The tragic loss of life … it’s always hard when we lose a tourist or resident here, but we have no evidence of dangerous conditions out there,” Sheriff Eric Aden said in a videotaped statement.
Officials with the Destin Fire Control District released a separate statement echoing the sheriff’s comments about beach conditions in Destin.
“There were no currents in the area where we responded to Ryan Mallet,” said the statement, which Destin Beach Safety, a rescue service, shared on Facebook on Wednesday, adding that yellow warning flags were posted on the beach the time of his drowning. A yellow flag “indicates medium danger, moderate surf and/or currents,” the statement said.