MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Authorities identified a man who drowned after he reportedly fell off a float late Tuesday afternoon in Madeira Beach.
Deputies responded around 5:30 p.m. following a report of a missing swimmer who never resurfaced from the water behind a condo located in the area of Gulf Boulevard and 130th Street, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office news release.
The man, identified as 51-year-old Anthony Angelo, was with his girlfriend when they took floats into the Gulf of Mexico, deputies said. His girlfriend stopped where she could touch the ocean floor but Angelo kept going about 50 yards.
Angelo started yelling for help and soon disappeared under the water, the sheriff's office said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office marine units and helicopter patrol, Pinellas County Fire Rescue, Eckerd College Search and Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife Marine Units and the U.S. Coast Guard all responded to the scene.
Less than two hours into the investigation, search crews said they found Angelo's body in the Gulf of Mexico. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says the investigation into this incident is still ongoing.