St. Martinville Man Drowns at Destin Beach

UPDATE, 9:45 a.m.: The victim in Tuesday's drowning in Destin is from St. Martinville. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office has not yet released the victim's name. We are still working to confirm the victim's identity.

According to the sheriff's office's Facebook page, relatives saw the 47-year-old man dive under water. He never resurfaced.

Deputies say lifeguards found the man face down in the water about 75 yards away from the beach and brought him ashore.

This is a developing story.

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Original story, 9 a.m.:

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office says a Louisiana man died Tuesday after going into the Gulf of Mexico in Destin.

Deputies said the drowning happened around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 1000 block of U. S. 98. According to Google Maps, that puts the location of the drowning on a beach behind a condominium complex.

Deputies say they got an emergency call after witnesses saw the man go into the gulf and disappear. First responders pulled the man from the water and tried to revive him. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Witnesses said on the sheriff's office's Facebook page that yellow flags had been flying at the beach when the man went under water.

A yellow-flag warning signifies that swimmers should exercise extreme caution and swim only near a lifeguard and heed all lifeguard warnings. When yellow flags are flying, high surfs and/or dangerous currents and undertows are possible, posing danger to swimmers.

Deputies have not yet released the victim's name or his hometown. We are still working to confirm the man's identity.

His death is one of two to happen along a north Florida beach on Tuesday. In Panama City Beach, a six-year-old from Atlanta drowned in the Gulf of Mexico. City officials said the child's body was found in a public beach access area on Surf Drive.

Both cases remain under investigation.