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Tag: Bradenton Beach drowning

Body found on Bradenton Beach dock

Body found on Bradenton Beach dock

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – It was just after 1 a.m. on Jan. 12 when three fishermen on a boat near the Bradenton Beach Pier needed a break from the inclement weather and decided to head to the adjacent dinghy dock to get warm.

When they pulled up to the dock, they observed what appeared to be a coat and clothing lying on the dock. As they got closer, they found a man slumped over the end of the dock with his head underwater. The reporting witness, Joshua Adkins, called 911 and waited for police to arrive.

According to his report, Bradenton Beach Police Officer Thomas Ferrara responded to the scene with Officer Roy Joslin and Officer Devon Straight to investigate.

“As we approached the dimly lit end of the dock, I observed an adult male body, obviously deceased with the chest area laying over the edge of the dock above the water and the left leg laying straight out on top of the dock out of the water,” Ferrara said in his report. “The right leg was above the water and half wrapped around a wooden piling that was attached to the dock. The deceased had both hands and arms dangling in the water and his entire head was under the surface of the water.”

After confirming that the deceased was beyond resuscitation, Straight pronounced the time of death to dispatch and the officers left the pier. They briefed their supervisors, Chief John Cosby, Sgt. Steve Masi and Lt. Lenard Diaz, about the situation. Diaz told Ferrara to contact the medical examiner and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit to respond and photograph the scene, according to the report.

The Sun spoke to Diaz on Jan. 12, who said the victim, identified as Mark Allen Crooks, 63, lived on a boat the department had cited previously for not being properly operational in the bay near the Bradenton Beach Pier. Diaz said Crooks had moved the boat to the coast of Cortez to avoid further Bradenton Beach violations.

Diaz said there was no foul play suspected in the death, and that the results of the autopsy would not be available by press time. Whether the man drowned or had a medical emergency that led to his death will not be known until that report is made available.

Unknown man rescues 9-year-old from drowning

Unknown man rescues 9-year-old from drowning

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – For one family, the Labor Day holiday weekend ended with gratitude to an unknown rescuer after a 9-year-old girl was saved from drowning at Cortez Beach.

According to Bradenton Beach Police Officer Ryan Gagliano’s report, he was dispatched to lifeguard tower 3 at Cortez Beach on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 5:05 p.m. in reference to a near-drowning. According to his report, when Gagliano arrived on the scene, Beach Patrol was already accessing the victim, whose name is being withheld due to her age.

“Sandra Parizo, the victim’s aunt, was on the scene and stated the victim was in the water with her juvenile brother,” Gagliano said in his report. “Parizo stated the brother came out of the water and when asked where his sister was, he did not know.”

An unknown man had located the girl in the water and pulled her to shore before 911 was called, according to the report. Parizo said she did not know how long the girl had been in the water, but bystanders said they thought it was around two minutes. Gagliano said he observed the girl come and go out of consciousness while Beach Patrol and EMS were assisting her.

EMS called for a Bay Flight helicopter to come to a landing zone that police officers had cleared at the North Coquina Boat Ramp. The victim was transported to All Children’s Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition as of 10:40 p.m. that day.

On Sept. 7, Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz said he was pleased to have gotten an update on the victim’s condition, and she was doing well and was expected to make a full recovery.