Teen Drowns Off Assateague Island; Community Calls for More Lifeguards

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. – An 18-year-old boy drowned while swimming off Assateague Island, near the southern end of the Chincoteague Beach parking lot.

WMDT spoke with community members and tourists at North Beach, part of the Assateague Island National Seashore, about the incident.

Dotti Gougolis, a visitor from New Jersey, said safety should be the top priority.

“First of all, there should definitely be lifeguards down here. You want to protect the people coming down — you’ve got visitors, you’ve got locals, you’ve got to protect them,” she said. “I’m from Jersey. We have them at least 30 feet apart on all of our beaches.”

A relative of the victim attempted to help and told lifeguards that two swimmers were struggling to stay afloat. Those lifeguards, however, were stationed about 150 yards south of the designated lifeguarded zone.

Brittany Fuller said the tragedy has changed how she approaches beach safety with her family.

“I’ve been really hawkeye on my kids, to make sure they know where they are, to be seen. They are not allowed to be far out,” she said.

Tourist Emily Kleppinger expressed concern about the limited lifeguard coverage.

“We come here to the beach every single year, so I was a little disappointed that they weren’t going to hire any lifeguards,” she said. “The water around here has a pretty strong current most of the time.”

On-duty lifeguards attempted to respond as quickly as possible, and were able to rescue one swimmer. The other was unconscious when pulled from the water and later died at a hospital.

Brooklyn Sprinkle, another visitor, said the lack of supervision is troubling.

“I have a little brother, so coming in, it doesn’t feel as safe knowing there are no people to watch out for us,” she said.

The National Park Service, in a statement, said: “We ask our visitors to never venture too far from shore and to pay attention to wind and currents, which can transport you long distances quickly.”