Mark Bryson of Lakeland took his family to Daytona Beach in June 2023 as a surprise celebration of his daughter’s seventh birthday.
The joyful outing transformed into a tragedy. As Bryson was helping his daughter build a sandcastle on the beach, he heard shouts coming from the water. Bryson’s 11-year-son, the son’s friend and her mother were struggling in the surf after a rip current eroded the sand they had been standing on.
Bryson sprinted into the surf in an attempt to rescue the three. The woman and the two children made it back to shore, but Bryson did not. He drowned at age 42…