Heroic Dad Tragically Dies After Saving 8-Year-Old Daughter from Drowning in Rip Current

By Amanda Thomason July 12, 2019 at 3:44pm

Anyone who has grown up spending their summers beachside knows that the ocean is a wonderful, mysterious and powerful thing. Where else can you look out and see nothing but water for miles?

If you were blessed to grow up splashing in the surf, there are a few things you learned immediately — sometimes through trial and error, sometimes through stern parental warnings.

Don’t turn your back on the sea. Fins belong to dolphins as well as sharks. Shuffle your feet underwater so you don’t startle a stingray. Avoid rip currents at all costs.

Despite the best of care, tragic accidents still happen, with one of the most recent hitting the Zakrewski family from Georgia in July 2019.

The family was relaxing along Upper Captiva, playing in the water and walking along the shore — all the typical things you’d do when visiting the beach. It was the wife and mother who noticed something was seriously amiss.

“On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service at approximately 5:38 p.m. regarding a missing adult male swimmer,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office told Liftable, a section of The Western Journal.

“A family walked along a curved sandbar on the shore of Upper Captiva when the mother, walking ahead of her family, glanced backward and discovered that her husband and 8-year-old child were struggling in the water.”

“Immediately, the mother jumped into the water and the father managed to pass the child to her,” LCSO told Liftable. “Unfortunately, the father continued to struggle and disappeared into the water.”

“The Marine Emergency Response Team (MERT) was activated and a multi-agency search began immediately. The United States Coast Guard, FWC, Sanibel and Captiva Fire Departments joined the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and Aviation Unit in the search for the missing male.”

For hours they combed the stretch where Thomas Zakrewski had disappeared, but they noted that the conditions were less than ideal, and they were met with “rough waters and considerable wind.”

The U.S. Coast Guard sent divers to aid in the effort, and by 10:30 p.m. they found the man’s body, only a half a mile from where he’d last been seen, according to the News-Press.

While authorities have not yet ruled the rip current as the official cause of Zakrewski’s passing, his death would make the 12th rip-current-related death this year for Florida alone.

“In the last week alone, we have rescued children and adults who have fallen victim to rip currents and strong tidal situations,” LCSO told Liftable. “We were deeply saddened that this incident ended so tragically and we are here, for Mr. Zakrewski’s family during this grievous time.”

At the time, rip current warnings were in effect — but while some currents are visible, others are not. Sergeant Russell Park with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office warned about this, according to NBC.

“Pay particular attention to areas around sandbars,” he said. “The water is coming in and it’s got to go out somewhere but you can’t always see it.”

“Wait until the conditions improve, don’t risk it. It’s not worth risking anybody’s life.”

While the family is no doubt struggling through a very dark time after this freak accident, it could have easily been both the man and his daughter who perished — but Zakrewski has proven that he was a very good father, making the ultimate sacrifice so that his daughter could live.

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