Panama City Beach

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5 Drown in Town's Rip Currents in 4 Days

It's all taking a toll on first responders in Panama City Beach, Florida

(Newser) - On the same day a Pennsylvania couple drowned in a rip current off Florida's Hutchinson Island, a 19-year-old from Oklahoma drowned in a rip current off Panama City Beach. It was the first of what would become five deaths at the beach town in four days, Fox News reports....

Death Toll Rises at Florida Beach
Death Toll Rises
at Florida Beach
Jun 26, 2023 4:57 PM CDT

Death Toll Rises at Florida Beach

3 Panama City tourists die in one day after plunging into rough Gulf surf

(Newser) - Three tourists who ventured into Gulf of Mexico waters, though Florida authorities had closed the area to swimmers because of rough surf conditions at the time, died Saturday. Police described the deaths as "three separate fatal water incidents behind three different resorts" off Panama City Beach, USA Today reports....

BASE Jump Off a Tourist High-Rise Ends in Tragedy

31-year-old Timothy Ackerman dies after leaping off condo complex in Panama City Beach

(Newser) - A Florida man who tried to BASE jump from a high-rise condo complex died over the weekend after his parachute apparently didn't open, and local authorities have now identified him. Per a release from the Panama City Beach Police Department cited by the Panama City News Herald , deputies found...

He Was Watching a Shark. Then a Swimmer Showed Up

Florida vacationer captures frightening video in Panama City Beach

(Newser) - A vacationer at a Florida resort watched for hours from his 28th floor balcony as what he thought might be a shark drifted through the murky waters of the beach below. It's when a swimmer at the Panama City Beach entered the picture that Stan Battles started recording—and...

Girl Complained About Bullying, Killed Herself Minutes Later

2 kids now charged with cyberstalking

(Newser) - While suspended from school for an alleged fight, 12-year-old Gabriella "Gabbie" Green walked into her mother's bedroom on Jan. 10 to complain about "girl drama" and the "particularly heavy" harassment she was receiving from classmates. Forty minutes later, she was found dead of a suicide that'...

Amazing Human Chain: 'These People Are Not Drowning Today'

Bystanders at Panama City Beach in Florida step up

(Newser) - It could have been the worst story of the day. Instead, it's one of the best. Dozens of strangers formed a human chain and saved a family from drowning at Panama City Beach in Florida, per the News Herald . The Washington Post reports that 10 people were rescued in...

Guy on Spring Break Falls to Death From Fla. Parking Garage

Tyler Gilmore, 20, had been drinking, his acquaintances say

(Newser) - An Indiana 20-year-old in Panama City Beach, Fla., for spring break fell to his death from a parking garage over the weekend, the News Herald reports. A passerby found Tyler Douglas Gilmore's body around 1am Sunday; he had last been seen around two hours before that. He fell from...

University of Florida to ZBT Frat: Buh-Bye

UF chapter closed after members accused of spitting on veterans

(Newser) - Future pledges interested in joining Zeta Beta Tau will have to go somewhere other than the University of Florida. The Gainesville Sun reports that the school's chapter of the fraternity is now closed in the wake of an April 17 incident in Panama City Beach in which ZBT members...

3rd Man Arrested in Alleged Spring Break Gang-Rape

Cops say he encouraged, joined 'sickening' beach assault

(Newser) - A third man has been arrested in what Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen says is "one of the most disgusting, repulsive, sickening things" he has ever seen. George Davon Kennedy was arrested in Dekalb County, Ga., over the alleged public gang rape of a woman on a public beach...

Woman Raped as Spring Break Crowd Watched: Cops
Woman Raped as Spring Break Crowd Watched: Cops
UPDATED
Apr 13, 2015 12:03 AM CDT

Woman Raped as Spring Break Crowd Watched: Cops

2 college kids charged in appalling Florida attack in broad daylight

(Newser) - Two college students have been charged with what police are calling the gang rape of a woman on a public beach in broad daylight, and Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen tells the Panama City News Herald that hundreds of nearby spring break revelers did absolutely nothing to stop the "...

7 Shot at Florida Spring Break Party

Including 3 Alabama A&M University students

(Newser) - Seven people were injured, some critically, during an early-morning spray of gunfire yesterday at a spring house break party in Panama City Beach, Florida. Multiple 911 calls flooded in just before 1am reporting the shootings at the three-story, vacation-rental home located several blocks off the beach. Deputies found a sprawling...

Florida Town Reverses, Courts Spring-Breakers

Panama City Beach is looking to rev up tourism after BP spill

(Newser) - A year and a half ago, Panama City Beach in Florida decided to try to shift its image from party central for college students on spring break to a more family-friendly destination, reports the Wall Street Journal . The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has brought a quick change of heart. With...

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