Neighbors of Brian Warter, 51, and Erica Wishard, 48, were stunned to learn the couple drowned Thursday after being sucked into a rip current while on vacation with their six kids in Florida.
"It seems like a great relationship," a friend of the Pennsylvania couple, Lauren Aldridge, told WPVI. "So, we are at a loss for words about the whole thing."
"He was a wonderful neighbor. We helped him out with his dogs. He helped us out with our dogs, with gardening advice, and taking care of the yard. Very nice guy. Very nice neighbor," she added.
The couple, from Chester County, Pennsylvania, died after being caught in a dangerous rip current at Stuart Breach on Hutchinson Island.
Both the parents and two of their teen children were swept out in the current, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
“The kids were able to break the current and attempted to help their parents, but it became too dangerous and they were forced to swim ashore,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Bystanders told NBC News that some of the couple’s children were yelling from shore, correctly advising their parents not to swim against the direction of the current but rather parallel to the beach, until they could escape the rip.
They didn’t receive the message, according to Martin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Budensiek.
The couple “were in panic mode and unfortunately went under,” he told WPTV.
“A lot of people are locals, they understand rip tides,” he added. “They know what to do, what not to do. They know where to get in the ocean and where not to. We get these vacationers that come in and unfortunately this ends poorly for them. There’s no way to get the message out to all of them.”
Earlier that morning, the sheriff’s office had posted about a red flag warning for hazardous conditions at Stuart Beach.
Area beaches were closed on Thursday after the incident, and hazardous surf risk remains through Friday, according to Martin County Fire Rescue spokesperson Cory Pippin.
“The ocean out here, it doesn’t take long for you to get in trouble, and for someone to end up in a potentially deadly situation,” he told The Palm Beach Post. “Always swim in a lifeguarded beach and know your swimming ability.”
“It does not take long at all for a family vacation or an outing to turn tragic if you are caught in a rip current.”
